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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple critical conversations. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about national security, and questions about the way such an tragedy could occur. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for a minimum of a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a suite of measures to reduce gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced firearms had been available.

Stopping another Bondi demands unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific toll of the attack demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Forward: Proposed Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will shortly introduce a suite of measures to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible 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 federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Countering Frequent Objections

We hear the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way 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 overseas without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed 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 firearms they used.

Balancing Need and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance 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 ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can become the last one the nation experiences.