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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about public safety, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could occur. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Solution

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and enacted a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Existing Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the individuals involved possessed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific consequences of the attack reveals that current gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding new firearm legislation. New South Wales specifically will shortly introduce a suite of reforms to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible if the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Countering Common Arguments

We hear the predictable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – the imperative action – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.