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Following the tragedy of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several critical reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an event could occur. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

Yet, the terrible consequences of the attack reveals that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Forward: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. New South Wales specifically will soon introduce a package of measures to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The national government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Addressing Common Arguments

There is the predictable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Necessity and Safety

There are valid reasons for some Australians to own guns. Farm work or culling pests in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws 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 to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. However horrific as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.