Australia is a democracy. It may not be a perfect democracy -- what is perfection, after all? -- but it is a democracy nonetheless. This may mean different things to different people, but, at its heart, democracy means conversing, listening, understanding, and reaching a consensus on the best course of action for society -- a consensus that represents the broader needs of all of our citizens.
As Friday afternoon wore on, and thoughts turned towards the weekend, as they naturally do at this time, news began to break of sickening events taking place across the Tasman Sea. Sketchy reports emerged, filled with the kind of words that can only turn stomachs – words like “shots fired”, words like “panic”, “violence”, “desperation”.