7 hours ago
For almost three decades, Australia’s gun laws have been recognised as among the most stringent – and effective – in the world.
After the horror of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that killed 35 people in Tasmania, Australia’s then conservative government stared down the gun lobby to introduce restrictions that led to a dramatic decrease in the number of guns.
In an almost unprecedented display of national collaboration, the federal government worked with the states to restrict semiautomatic weapons, toughen up licensing requirements and introduce a new requirement for gun holders to demonstrate a “genuine reason” for ownership.
Australians have been rightly proud of these reforms, confident that the community remains relatively safe from gun violence and far from the American reality of frequent mass shootings.
Sunday’s Bondi attack will shake that confidence and may force the country to again grapple with its gun laws.
While the details of the weapons used in the shooting are unknown, including whether they were legally obtained, there has been growing concern among gun control advocates that firearms remain far too easy to access despite the country’s “gold standard” framework.
Gun safety experts have been warning of complacency, pointing to booming gun numbers and weaknesses across state and territory laws that can be easily exploited, or see lawful weapons end up in criminal hands.
At the same time, new threats such as 3D-printed weapons and a growing sovereign citizen movement are posing new challenges to law enforcement when it comes to gun control.
While the well-intentioned reforms of 1996 have immense public and political support, in reality there are elements of the so-called national firearm agreement that have still not yet been fully implemented.
A promised national register, for example, is still not a reality and, instead of nationally harmonised laws, Australians have different laws in different states, all of which are inconsistently regulated.
Immediately after the Port Arthur massacre, a national amnesty saw the number of firearms in the community plummet but there are now more than 4 million guns in Australia – almost double the number recorded in 2001.
Yes, the population has increased at the same time but there is now a larger number of guns in the community per capita than in the aftermath of Port Arthur, with at least 2,000 new firearms lawfully entering the community every week.
It is these figures that has the gun lobby boasting that it is “winning” the fight against Australia’s longstanding crackdown, calling for gun owners to become more politically active to further enable their industry.
The lobby has been particularly alarmed by new laws introduced in Western Australia last year, which have – among other measures – limited the number of guns that an individual licence holder can own and tightened mental health checks for licence holders.
The West Australian police have suggested the new laws should be a “beacon” for other states to follow, saying it sets a new, higher bar for community safety.
