Intouch Public Health

Stephen Bendle

Australia is grieving from the Bondi tragedy of 14 December, in which 15 people were killed while attending a Jewish community celebration.

We extend our deepest condolences to the victims – who were specifically targeted in this terror attack – and to their families and loved ones.

We’re thinking of everyone who was injured, and we are grateful to all who helped on Sunday night, and in the days since.

Everyone in Australia has the right to be able to gather, celebrate, and practise their faith without fear of violence, especially gun violence.

As we continue to grieve, we’re also looking to our government leaders to make good on their pledges to enact firearm reforms to ensure our communities are safe wherever they gather.

The Public Health Association of Australia is a founding member of the Australian Gun Safety Alliance which has developed a 10-point plan, outlined below, which can boost those reforms to make them as effective as possible.

In a sense, though, I wish that this article was not necessary. I wish that previous governments had acted on the promises they made to enact in full the National Firearms Agreement in the wake of the 1996 Port Arthur tragedy.

I wish that our laws had kept up to date with changes in firearm technology, manufacture and ownership patterns.

In that time, we have seen the rise of the firearm industry and their influence in parliaments around the country. I am always amazed that we have a shooters’ party but we don’t have a gambling or alcohol party.

Walter Mikac AM, who lost his wife and daughters in the 1996 tragedy, says Bondi is “a horrific reminder of the need to stay vigilant against violence, and of the importance of ensuring our gun laws continue to protect the safety of all Australians.”

Mr Mikac and others helped to get the National Firearms Agreement established, despite a massive push back from vested interests.

Those same interests have ensured that governments have not acted on the evidence required to keep people safe from firearms.

Three decades on, Australia’s gun laws have not kept pace with changes in firearm technology, patterns of ownership, and contemporary risk factors.

Recent Australia Institute research has found that there are more than 4 million guns across Australia, far more than at the time of the 1996 tragedy. But the real number is hard to determine for reasons including data gaps.

For example, some of our governments are still using a paper-based system to track firearm ownership. That makes sharing information across jurisdictions that much harder.

“Firearms licensing has to be tightened to stem the flood of guns hiding in our suburbs, says Tim Quinn, President of Gun Control Australia.

“With sometimes tens or even hundreds of guns under one license holder’s legal genuine reason, we have to question the law’s ability to keep the Australian public safe from gun violence.”

The AGSA 10 Point Action Plan for firearm reform

1. Remove the recreational hunting licence category
   The use of firearms for enjoyment does not constitute a public-safety justification for widespread private firearm ownership. If a firearm is not required for genuine occupational need, primary production, or tightly regulated professional use, the user should not be licensed.
2. Further restrict high-capability firearms
   Firearms with features that enable rapid or mass harm – including magazines and rapid-reload capability – must be reclassified into the most restrictive categories and removed from general civilian access. These reforms must be supported by a funded national amnesty and buy-back program. For example, centrefire rifles and lever-action shotguns with magazines must be reclassified as Category C or D.
3. End metropolitan home storage for non-occupational firearms
   Firearms are lethal weapons, not household items. For non-occupational use, firearms should not be stored in suburban homes. Firearms used for sporting or club purposes should be stored exclusively in accredited club armouries with professional security standards, strict access controls and auditable custody logs.
4. Limit the number of firearms per individual
   Caps must be placed on the number of firearms an individual can own to reduce stockpiling and limit diversion, theft and misuse. Standards should require each person to have no more than the minimum number of firearms that is necessary for their licensed purpose. The overwhelming majority of firearms users should only require a single firearm.
5. Explicitly prohibit the use of firearms by children
   All jurisdictions circumvent the NFA by allowing junior permits. This is allowing children as young as 12 to legally use firearms. There is no public benefit in this other than creating a new generation of firearm enthusiasts. Today, a 13-year-old child cannot use Facebook, but they can legally use guns.
6. Introduce robust, renewable licensing
   Firearm licences must move away from “set-and-forget” models toward regular, in-person renewals. “Fit and proper person” assessments should be strengthened with risk-based checks and mandatory security reviews informed by criminal intelligence.
7. Establish national reporting and oversight
   Create a national firearms monitoring institute to collect and publish consistent data, evaluate firearm harms and oversee compliance across jurisdictions. This body should be independently funded, including through a levy on firearm clubs and licensing systems.
8. End unlicensed shooting
   Allowing people to shoot at public ranges without a licence undermines the entire licensing system and has led to deaths in the community.
9. Ban political donations from the firearm industry
   Certain states ban political donations from prohibited industries ranging from property developers to liquor companies. The firearms industry should be similarly prohibited.
10. Establish a National Firearms Safety Council
    The voice of the community and the imperative of public safety must be heard clearly in policy discussions. The establishment of a National Firearms Safety Council would assist national dialogue and leadership on gun law.

It’s not enough to express sympathy for people killed and injured at Bondi.

Our political leaders must understand that more than 70 percent of the population want gun controls, and 96% of the population have no connection with firearms.

The public wants their safety to always prioritise private access to lethal weapons.

Thirty years ago, our political leaders led the world on gun reform.

Today’s leaders mustn’t waiver.

 

Right now, the firearm Industry is peppering NSW MPs with letters. The reform bill will enter Parliament on Monday 22 December.

If you would like to counter that with support for gun reform, go here to contact your local NSW MP.

 

Stephen Bendle is Senior Advocacy Advisor to the Alannah and Madeleine Foundation, and Convenor of the Australian Gun Safety Alliance