🔗 Share this article

Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several critical reckonings. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an event could happen. However, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a series of reforms to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if different weapons had been available.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the horrific toll of the attack demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

We have been complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon enact a package of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

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

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the predictable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the firearms they used.

Balancing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one friend observed after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation ever sees.