In the aftermath of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several critical conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about national security, and questions about how such an tragedy could happen. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount dialogue we are now having centers on firearms.
A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Response
Health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and implemented a suite of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.
This Recent Attack and the Role of Current Regulations
Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in international mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been accessible.
Preventing a future Bondi demands national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the united front.
Legislation Showing Weakness
However, the terrible toll of the incident reveals that existing firearm regulations are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.
We have been complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.
The Path Forward: Announced Changes
In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales in particular will soon introduce a suite of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The federal government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal governments.
These measures are feasible provided that the nation works together. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a state line.
Countering Common Arguments
We hear the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed 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 weapons they used.
Weighing Necessity and Safety
There are valid reasons for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.
What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the envy of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.
A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.
