Australia was long seen as a international standard-bearer in gun control – Bondi has laid bare a much murkier reality.

On a Sunday afternoon in 1996, a single attacker wielding semi-automatic rifles murdered 35 people in the Tasmanian tourist destination of Port Arthur.

That horrific event nearly thirty years ago, which sparked some of the toughest gun laws in the world, can appear as a different era for many Australians.

However, the tragedy in Bondi this past Sunday, which claimed 15 lives, has brought back painful recollections of the Tasmanian tragedy.

Firearm Possession at a Historic Peak

A analysis revealed that there are now in excess of four million weapons owned by civilians across the country – a figure that is roughly two times the amount from the late 1990s.

This equates to approximately one firearm per seven citizens.

While Queensland has the largest arsenal, followed by NSW and Victoria, it is Tasmania and the Northern Territory that have the highest rate of firearm ownership.

The data also challenges the popular notion that guns are mainly owned by people in regional areas.

Firearms are widespread in metropolitan and suburban areas, with a significant portion located in population centres.

Critically, there are now weapons owned by a smaller group, with the typical gun owner possessing more than four firearms.

What Are Australia's Current Gun Laws?

Gun control laws in Australia are not uniform across the country, with a disparate implementation of rules between different jurisdictions.

Generally, to obtain a gun licence, an individual must be of legal age, deemed a "responsible individual", pass a safety program, and provide a "valid purpose" for ownership.

The permitted justifications include sport shooting or animal management, marksmanship, certain occupational requirements, and collecting.

However, significant shortcomings remain. For instance, individuals under 18 in some states can have use of a firearm from as young as early adolescence.

Following the Port Arthur massacre, a major rewrite of national gun laws was enacted, leading to a massive buyback of over 650,000 firearms.

Automatic and semi-automatic rifles were banned, and background checks alongside waiting periods for sales were introduced.

A key tenet of these reforms was the removal of "self-defence" as a valid reason for gun ownership.

New Push for Firearm Policy Changes

In the wake the Bondi shooting, political leaders were forceful about the need to tighten gun laws.

A weapons collection initiative was unveiled, marking the largest such effort since 1996.

Other planned reforms now under consideration include:

• Limiting the number of guns an individual can have registered.
• Reforming "open-ended" licensing arrangements.
• Making Australian citizenship a prerequisite for firearm ownership.
• Strengthening intelligence sharing during background check processes.

There are also calls for regular reviews of existing licence holders, acknowledging that "people's circumstances can change" over time.

An Ongoing Controversy

These swift actions have drawn criticism from some quarters.

Pro-gun advocates contend that limiting gun numbers would not have averted an attack driven by radicalisation.

They suggest that political capital would be better spent addressing root causes rather than tightening regulations for the overwhelming number of responsible owners.

Furthermore, a key proposed reform from 1996 – a centralised weapon tracking system – remains not yet operational, though it has now been listed as a key project.

Tragedy as a Wake-Up Call

For campaigners, the Bondi attack is a stark warning that gun laws must keep pace with changing times.

They argue that reform is needed to "keep up-to-date" and safeguard communities.

While mass shootings remain uncommon in Australia compared to some nations, the potential persists, and the ongoing issue of firearms circulating illegally – through poor storage – continues to pose a problem.

As one advocate noted, "It is unfortunate that it needs such a devastating event to get people to wake up and listen."