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Following the tragedy of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, an persistent concern about national security, and questions about the way such an tragedy could occur. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a series of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a physical action to ready the next round. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

Yet, the horrific toll of the attack demonstrates that existing gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities owning arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

The nation has grown complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Forward: Announced Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. New South Wales specifically will shortly enact a suite of reforms to reduce the public danger from firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation works together. As stated, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

We hear the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are indispensable.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the envy of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation experiences.