Perhaps it is just a politician grabbing news, but it is true nonetheless.

Jan

Based on my experience living in Australia, most Australians don't mind being a "nation of victims." My guess is that this politician is just using the event for personal coverage in the news and nothing will come of it.

BTW, if you want some great Aussie parody on its own government, I recommend watching the Australia tv series "Rake." (The US version is for morons by comparison.)

I have known Aussies of both persuasions. In my limited and biased profile of Aussies I have known and traveled with, most have been in the mining business. They tend to be a bit more self reliant and individualistic than the city slicks. But, I have had an awful lot of fun explaining the 2nd Amendment, the US Constitution, and why I would rather be a seppo than a subject.

Many, many of these types were very good listeners. Of course my exotic American accent enthralled them and they may have listened to whatever I was saying anyway. But I recall visiting a mining friend in McKay in 2005 - the major gun ban was about 10 years old then and he was still pissed. He pointed out in his backyard where a Taipan had come in from the sugar cane fields and was alarmingly close to his kids playing in the yard. He had to dispatch it with a shovel. That was all he had.

Sen. David Leyonhjelm, Australia’s Liberal Democratic Party Senator. ( lib dem ~=libertarian)
speaks for a very small minority (his party got my #1 vote) so 'Australia re-thinking' is misleading.
I admit that this is not one of my prime concerns but gun ownership here is not illegal,
I understand that it does require 'jumping thru hoops turning somersaults sideways' tho' to get a license.
The Sydney cafe jihadist did not have a license.

Facts: we have a relatively low number of crime incidents involving guns, in cases of crime with guns offenders do not have a license,
licensed gun holders are unlikely to be in any kind of crime. Our culture on this topic is quite different to that of Americans.
I am not sure what these facts prove-
It could be the law is weak, or weakly enforced, or should not exist.
The whole topic of of administration re that jihadist puts Australia in a bad light, from the moment he stepped ashore, to ignoring info from the Iranian government about his criminal past, to letting him out on bail after the murder of his wife, sexual assault convictions, to giving him welfare.. etc.
To be cynical I could say if he had applied for a gun license one would have been given!

About Time.

My somewhat limited experience with Aussies is they think of guns as rattlesnakes which are inherently dangerous as distinct from tools which can do good in the right hands and bad in the wrong hands. Pretty much goes along with the attitude of “I do not want any responsibility for anything” they also projected to me. Indeed, they are the perfect victims.

if we were all armed, in some way or other, the
chances of violence would approach zero. -- j

It means only Australia is now getting a libertarian political movement. If you want evidence of a rethink, see how many votes he gets.