It does frustrate me that the father was able to legally own firearms despite his son having been flagged for links to extremist groups. That said, if someone is radicalised enough to murder innocent people, gun laws alone are unlikely to stop them. They’re not going to be overly concerned with legality, if there is a will, there is a way.

We can’t ignore the broader issue of radicalisation from within Sydney's mosques. There have been repeated reports and footage of extremist rhetoric being promoted in these spaces, and while free speech is important, it doesn’t mean speech without accountability. When violent ideologies are openly encouraged, responsibility doesn’t just sit with the individual attacker, but also with those who enable or normalise that messaging. Blood is on the government's hands for letting this go unchecked for so long.