A more violent society.

There is no doubt that Australia has become a more violent society in recent times. Decades ago the proverbial pub punch-up resulted in grazes and split knuckles - and occasionally a trip to casualty for a broken cheek bone or eye socket. Today that altercation is more likely to result in a trip in an ambulance to have a stab wound treated,
The police express concern at the weapons they encounter - and confiscate. Everything from kitchen knives to machetes and all number of exotic weapons from flick knives to swords. There are laws against carrying such weapons, but this is an age when obeying the law seems a remote and amusing challenge to most youth.
Now there is a new challenge. Replica firearms are a banned import in New South Wales, but that ban is not country wide. In particular, Western Australia has no such laws and replicas are flooding into that state - and being dispersed to the other states.
Not only are replicas amazingly perfect in detail but their use in holdups is beyond detection even by trained officers. Now there is a new menace. Criminal mechanics have devised ways to turn them from a replica to the genuine article, capable of firing live ammunition.
NSW authorities have appealed to Western Australia and the other states to implement a nation wide ban on replicas but so far no agreements have been reached. It may be necessary for the Commonwealth government to move on this issue and implement a national customs ban. Otherwise, sometime in the near future we may see hand guns replacing cutting instruments as the main weapon being used in the mayhem on our streets !