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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing reckonings. There is a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could happen. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a suite of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none approaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a physical action to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi requires national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the terrible consequences of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

We have been complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Ahead: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will shortly enact a suite of measures to reduce the collective risk 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 jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation works together. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Need and Security

There are valid needs for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to better match the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "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 incident was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.