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In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an event could happen. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Response

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a suite of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Existing Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the next round. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different weapons had been available.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the horrific consequences of the incident reveals that existing firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

The nation has grown overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Road Forward: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales in particular will shortly introduce a package of measures to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation works together. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the predictable argument that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to move 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Weighing Necessity and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. However horrific as the incident was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.