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You would think that, having had a major terror attack here, we’d be the last people that needed to be told after what happened in Bondi on Sunday night that we’re too complacent. 

But that’s what security experts are saying. That New Zealand remains complacent and naive, despite 51 people being killed in the mosque attacks in Christchurch in March 2019. 

And I think we are getting to the point where we need to have armed police at all major events in this country. 

These security experts are saying that what happened at Bondi should be something of a wake-up call for us. With one of them putting it this way in the NZ Herald: “We’re only a small millimetre away from that occurring in our own backyard again.” 

That’s a quote from Chris Kumeroa, who is a director of Global Risk Consulting and principal security adviser to the Government’s Crowded Places Security Advisory Group. 

He says, even though there are significant differences between New Zealand and Australia in terms of international relationships and migrant communities, there is still growing political, religious and social polarisation here. And he says we could be doing more to deal with the risk of another mass casualty event happening. 

But what more could we do? How could we be more vigilant? 

Armed police at major events would be one way. 

Anyone who went to the public gatherings after the 2019 mosque attacks will remember the police being heavily armed. 

And I know that what I’m suggesting would definitely be confronting, but I think it would be comforting, as well. 

Because the clincher for me is this: in Bondi on Sunday night, one of the alleged attackers was a licensed firearms owner. The father, who was still allowed to keep his weapons despite his son apparently having an interest or a connection to ISIS. 

Nevertheless, the guns weren’t illegal. Which shows how gun laws aren’t enough on their own. 

So what I’m talking about is armed police at big sporting events, big concerts and gatherings of particular communities that might be considered at-risk. 

As former SIS agent and now Massey University senior lecturer Rhys Ball is saying today: “We still don’t have conversations within New Zealand society that is thinking about security and safety in any way other than this kneejerk response. Security is usually down the pecking order of issues.”

Armed police at major gatherings and events would be a definite way of putting it up the pecking order, don’t you think?