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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing conversations. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about public safety, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Successful Response

Health experts have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Existing Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to ready the next round. Although these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been available.

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

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific toll of the attack reveals that current gun laws are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

The nation has grown complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Road Forward: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will shortly enact a suite of measures to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Need and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that gun laws are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator observed after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because 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.