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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing worry 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 most important dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least 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 experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare 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

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons 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 lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if different weapons had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

Yet, the horrific consequences of the incident demonstrates that existing gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Ahead: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a suite of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has announced a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible 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 very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed 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 weapons they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Safety

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies 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 attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.