It's hard to believe almost 20 years have passed since the Port Arthur massacre. It can’t possibly be two decades since those first images of police and paramedics frantically trying to make sense of what had happened in the small Tasmanian tourist spot were beamed into our lounge rooms.
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And surely it was not that long ago that MPs in the new Howard Government took the brave decision to risk their own seats in parliament to fight for tighter gun control across the country.
It’s even harder to believe, however, that a country like America is still waiting for its own Port Arthur moment.
Countless Americans have died in gun massacres in the two decades since Port Arthur, yet gun control remains a distant hope in that nation.
A rabid gun lobby, backed by financial and political power, retains its tight grip on public policy in America, so much so that even Barack Obama – a staunch supporter of tighter gun controls – has been unable to change the culture or the law.
These matters were on former prime minister John Howard’s mind when he visited Dubbo last week to speak at a Nationals dinner for the local electorate.
Mr Howard will always be remembered as the PM who brought gun control to Australia but, as he has always been quick to point out, he could not have done so without the support of senior Nationals in the Coalition.
Men like Tim Fischer and John Anderson had the task of convincing their constituents – many of them farmers who needed their guns – that the government was not unfairly targeting them, and that the new gun laws were for the benefit of all Australians.
The fact that 20 years on, Mr Howard can be invited to speak at a Nationals dinner is proof of just how well they all prosecuted their argument.
Australia is undoubtedly a safer place today as a result of the gun laws introduced following Port Arthur.
It’s remarkable to think that a terrible day that so shocked Australia could ultimately become a day that forever changed Australia – for the better.
