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In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, an persistent concern about public safety, and inquiries about how such an event could happen. But, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Response

Health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a suite of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a physical action to ready the next round. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the terrible consequences of the attack reveals that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a suite of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation acts in unison. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

We hear the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to move 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they used.

Balancing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in many places is incredibly hard 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 guarantee that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi events, "such tragedies 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 hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.