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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple pressing conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about national security, and questions about how such an event could happen. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Solution

Health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a suite of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been accessible.

Stopping another Bondi demands national cohesion. Regrettably, there are already cracks in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific toll of the attack demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Forward: Proposed Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will shortly introduce a suite of measures to mitigate the public danger posed by firearms. The federal government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation works together. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a journey across a border.

Countering Frequent Arguments

There is the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Weighing Need and Safety

There are valid needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.