The horrific anti-Semitic terrorist attack in Bondi, the most deadly mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre thirty years ago, makes gun law reform in Australia necessary. Suggestions from former prime minister John Howard and others that gun law reform is just "a distraction" are cynical in the extreme.

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Precisely no one is suggesting gun law reform is the only solution in response to the atrocity at Bondi. Clearly, there is much more than can be done to tackle rising antisemitism and hate speech effectively.

It has been interesting to watch many politicians who defended the right to be bigot just a few years ago, now leading the charge to criminalise hate speech. There may also have been intelligence failures that need to be examined. But when a man whose son was investigated by ASIO for links to Islamic State extremists is able to enact mass murder with a stockpile of six legal firearms, it is clear Australia's gun laws are not working as intended.

Australia is not the United States; gun ownership is not a right, it is a privilege. Australians accept that many people have legitimate reasons for owning guns, like farmers. But most Australians think we should restrict who has guns, how many, why they have them and what kinds of guns they have.

Australia Institute research shows there are now more guns in Australia than ever before. As of 2024, there are more than 4 million guns legally owned by the civilian population. This is 25 per cent more than before the Port Arthur shootings in 1996 when there were around 3 million guns. After the Howard government gun reforms, including the national buyback scheme, the number of legally owned guns in Australia dropped below 2.5 million-the jump from there to 4 million guns in 2024 is a 60 per cent increase.

Australia's gun control laws have been effective, but they are neither perfect nor complete.

In most of Australia, there is no limit on the number of guns an individual can own. In NSW alone, there are 75 people who own more than 100 guns each, according to NSW police data. Western Australia is the only state to have legislated a cap on the number of guns an individual can own, five for most licensees, and 10 for farmers and competition shooters.

More than 2000 guns are stolen every year in Australia, based on data obtained from police. That's one

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