A retired senior police officer has broken his silence, claiming the devastating Bondi terrorist attack was a tragedy foretold, after years of his warnings about lax gun controls went unheeded.
"It Was Always Going to Happen": A Retired Officer's Warnings
Wayne Jackson, a former senior constable, spent the final nine years of his three-decade career inside the New South Wales Firearms Registry. From this frontline position, he grew increasingly alarmed as he watched thousands of firearm licences being approved for civilian ownership, often with minimal scrutiny.
Fighting back tears in a recent interview, Jackson revealed his team had frequently discussed the inevitability of a major incident. "My greatest fear, which was clearly what occurred with Bondi… We talked about it a lot... when, where, how it was going to happen," he said. "It was always going to happen and the writing has been on the wall for years."
Systemic Failures and "Rubber Stamp" Approvals
Jackson lifted the lid on what he describes as critical internal failings. He claimed the process for procuring a firearm had become overly reliant on automated systems, creating dangerous gaps in oversight. "The people casting eyes over these applications - and in turn, issuing the licences - is not there," he explained.
This systemic issue meant that concerning circumstances around a licence holder's address—such as proximity to a school or a known criminal hotspot—were often missed until it was too late. "They've already got their licence and they've already got their gun," Jackson stated.
His concerns are underscored by stark statistics: one in every 30 Australians holds a gun licence, with a total of four million registered firearms nationwide. A quarter of these weapons are in New South Wales.
The Tragic Catalyst and Legislative Response
The warnings became a horrific reality on December 14, when Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24, allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people. Sajid Akram held a valid firearm licence and legally owned six guns.
In the wake of the massacre, NSW Premier Chris Minns urgently recalled parliament just before Christmas to pass stricter gun laws. Acting NSW Police Minister Paul Scully stated that the reforms now give NSW the toughest firearm ownership laws in the country.
The new legislation includes significant changes:
- Firearms licences must be renewed every two years instead of every five.
- Licensees must reprove their genuine reason for holding a firearm at each renewal.
- A pledged significant uplift in resources for the Firearms Registry.
Minister Scully acknowledged that licence processing delays were a known problem before the current government was elected in 2023.
For Wayne Jackson, the reforms are a bittersweet validation. He recounted a prior investigation into a Blue Mountains gun museum, where he flagged inadequate safe storage as a major risk. Years later, the museum was burgled in "exactly" the way he predicted, with over $200,000 worth of antique guns stolen. He fears many of his other reports never left the office.
As mourners gathered at Bondi to mark one month since the attack, Jackson's testimony stands as a sobering indictment of missed opportunities, underscoring a painful lesson learned too late about the vital importance of rigorous firearm regulation.
