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In the aftermath of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an persistent worry about national security, and inquiries about how such an event could happen. But, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a series of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the next round. Although these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, there are already cracks in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific consequences of the attack demonstrates that current firearm regulations are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding new firearm legislation. New South Wales specifically will shortly enact a package of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to 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 journey across a state line.

Countering Frequent Arguments

We hear the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the identical way that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Weighing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Farm work or culling pests in rural areas 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 firearm legislation are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

As one commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.