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It has become a tradition for the Trudeau government: Whenever a mass shooting occurs, it immediately announces more gun-control measures.

It did it in 2020, when in the days after the murder of 22 people in Nova Scotia, it announced a ban on ownership of many semi-automatic assault-style rifles, and said it would bring in a mandatory buyback program for those weapons.

The Liberals did it again last week, in the heightened emotional aftermath of the killing of 19 children in a Texas elementary school, when they announced their intention to take new gun-control steps.

On the plus side, hey, at least in Canada we have a government that responds to mass shootings by talking about preventing more of them unlike the United States, where it is preordained that yet another slaughter of children will not change American gun laws.

But using such episodes to sell Canadian gun-control policies overlooks the fact that the biggest and most persistent gun-violence problem in Canada is not mass shootings. Its the daily tally of individual violent crimes involving firearms, especially handguns. And the Liberals have done little to stem the growing number of these less-newsworthy crimes.

A Statistics Canada report released last week says that, since 2009, the per capita rate of firearms being pointed at someone in the commission of a crime has nearly tripled, and the rate at which guns are fired with intent to kill or wound is up fivefold.

In rural areas, there were notable spikes in firearms-related crimes in 2019 and 2020, mostly involving long guns. But its in cities and suburbs where crime is most likely to involve a firearm usually an easy-to-conceal handgun. Statscan says 63 per cent of firearm-related violent crimes in urban areas involved handguns in 2020.

These trends are starkly reflected in Canadas largest city, whose rate of gun crime is about average for the country (and lower than Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and Calgary). The Toronto Police Service reported this month that 286 people have been killed in shootings, and 1,185 people have been injured, since 2015.

The Liberals, quick to rush to the podium after mass shootings, have mostly offered half-baked measures in response to the much larger number of Canadians harmed by mundane, day-to-day gun violence.

Their most talked-about plan involves passing the buck to municipalities, by giving them the right to ban handguns. Toronto could ban handgun ownership and sales, while municipalities next door do not. Its nonsensical. A more sensible proposal would be for the federal government to ban handguns nationwide, as this page has argued before.

There should also be increased penalties for smuggling and trafficking illegal guns, and tightened border controls. Canadas rules to screen legal gun owners are necessary and effective, but theres a large and growing problem of illegal guns flowing in from the U.S. Thats why, as we recently wrote, those who want tougher gun control and those who want to go after criminals with illegal guns are both right.

The Liberals should also listen to an idea from the Toronto Police Service. It proposed this month that the federal government require bail hearings for people charged with the most serious firearm offences be heard by judges, instead of by justices of the peace. Its a move the police say would clearly convey Parliaments view of the seriousness of these offences.

Toronto police also suggest that Ottawa amend the Criminal Code so that someone who opens fire in a busy public place can be charged with first-degree murder if they kill an innocent bystander.

There is no one magic bullet that can make gun crime disappear. But Canada has done a few things right, and the way forward includes more of the same: smart gun control that screens owners while respecting law-abiding hunters; a focus on the flow of smuggled and illegal guns; criminal laws that target gun crime; and a society with a strong economy, education system and social safety net, to minimize the incentive to turn to crime.

More proposals from the Liberals to, for example, limit the magazine capacity of long guns may be welcomed by the public especially in light of the Texas tragedy. But they would be, once again, ignoring this countrys most deadly and widespread gun crimes.

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Globe editorial: Canada has a real gun violence problem, but it's (mostly) not the one the Liberals want to talk about - The Globe and Mail

At the big house itself, Nationals and Liberals were gathering to elect their new leadership teams but struggling to find refreshments. The ACTs Reconciliation Day public holiday meant that the buildings two eateries, The Aussies and the Trough, were shut and, leaving only Queens Terrace, the cafe bar that is, quelle horreur, open to the public.

Former member for Higgins Katie Allen (right) and current member Michelle Ananda-Rajah, were seated together on their flight to Canberra.

Outspoken NSW Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg seemed particularly confused, asking press gallery journos, twice, how he got to Queens but once he got there he joined a mass of sad Coalition types forced not only to contemplate life in opposition but to sit among the great unwashed to sip their coffees.

Coffees at Queens with Eric Abetz, Tim Wilson and Andrew Hastie.Credit:John Shakespeare

Beaten contenders Eric Abetz and Tim Wilson joined survivors Andrew Hastie, Stuart Robert, Alex Hawke, Hollie Hughes, Nola Marino and Melissa Price over a cuppa.

A small group of Labor types from WA; Josh Wilson, Matt Keogh and Patrick Gorman, who got quite a shock when a press pack - at least 20 strong - arrived at Queens direct from newly crowned Liberal leader Peter Duttons lengthy press conference in desperate need of caffeine.

The newbies escaped the encounter gaffe-free.

Dumped dissident state Liberal MP Bernie Finns defiant response to his expulsion from the parliamentary party last week included the claim that he had already been approached by six or seven other parties with offers to join their ranks.

Finn blurted the Lib-Dems as one of the outfits in the chase, before reeling it back in and refusing to name more names.

But when CBD called a senior Liberal Democrat figure, who didnt want their name in the paper next to this matter, an approach to Finn was news to them although thats not to say it hadnt happened.

There might be some philosophical issues, the Lib-Dem told CBD.

We also put in a call to Clive Palmers United Australia Party, whose approach to COVID-19 public health measures is not far removed from that of Finn. We havent heard back.

Pauline Hansons One Nation shares some of Finns trademark anti-abortion views, so we called them too. Nothing doing, at least so far, according to a party spokesman.

The man himself, in response to CBDs enquiries, was giving little away.

Discussions are well advanced, Finn said on Monday, but he wouldnt say with whom.

Labor and Greens can be safely ruled out, we reckon, but Bernie has the power to surprise.

We were intrigued to learn, for example, that Finn was about to embark on a regular segment on Neil Mitchells breakfast show on Melbournes radio 3AW (owned by Nine News and Entertainment, publisher of The Age), teaming up with Reason Party (formerly Sex Party) leader Fiona Patten.

Its true that Finn has taken a flexible approach to his hardline Catholic principles in the past, but taking to the airwaves with the woman he has dubbed Satans Little Helper is news indeed.

SPOTTED: After his big sporty weekend new PM Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon caught the final performance of Wayside Bride at the Belvoir Theatre on Sunday. Albo came in a private capacity to the 2pm matinee to support his friend actor Sasha Horler and, when the COVID-safety address announced there was a PM in the room, he got a round of applause before the actors had taken to the stage. The drama which centres around Wayside founder Ted Noffs heresy charges which he ultimately won against the church, in his fight to make Australia more compassionate was was right up Albos alley.

Also Sam Kerr, spotted briefly in Spike Lees directors cut ad to celebrate Nike 50th anniversary. The soccer star was the only Australian athlete to appear.

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Liberals keep it in the family with Stones new gig - The Age

Labor has had better success in choosing good candidates, as shown in recent state byelections. Well-known South Coast obstetrician Michael Holland, who had long links to the community, seized Bega from the Liberals while Jason Yatsen-Li, a second generation Chinese-Australian, held Strathfield for Labor.

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Of course, Labor does not always get it right. You need no more proof than Les win in Fowler in the federal election on Saturday. Kristina Keneally, the former premier who led NSW Labor to a crushing defeat in 2011, was parachuted into Fowler to sort out Labors internal squabbles over the partys Senate ticket. The voters saw straight through Labor and turned to the local candidate who was far more representative than Keneally of the diverse community. The result? Labor lost a safe seat to an independent (who the Liberals had failed to keep).

Labor may have a slight edge in picking suitable candidates but its path to victory in March is far more complex than simply choosing good representatives. The federal result also reveals an ominously low primary vote for Labor in the area too low, if it translates to the state election, for the party to win in western Sydney, where it will matter.

Federal Labor went backwards in Lindsay, which encompasses the ultra-marginal state Liberal seat of Penrith, and the result in Fowler spells disaster for the newly created state seat of Leppington, which is notionally Labor but by a wafer-thin margin.

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There were mixed results for Labor in Banks on Saturday, and in what would worry party strategists, the ALP took a hit in booths in East Hills and Revesby exactly in the areas where it needs to be picking up votes, not losing them, if it has any hope in the state election.

The federal election showed that the rule book has been rewritten for both the Liberals and Labor. Votes have fragmented, and with an optional preferential system in NSW, primary votes have never been more important. The task ahead is huge for Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns.

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Dai Le, the perfect female Liberal candidate - rejected by NSW Liberals - Sydney Morning Herald

One of the less appealing features of Australian politics is the reflexive reaction to election results, in which the winners are hailed as geniuses and the losers are dismissed as hapless dopes. Over the years, the directors of the winning campaigns have even been given a chance post-election to expound on their brilliance in an address to the National Press Club. Their explanations of what happened have then been accepted as holy writ by the media.

To be sure, winners deserve to be grinners. The Labor Party is now in office, so it got more than a few things right. But every election result contains complexities and surely this election more than any in living memory was overflowing with them. The national electorate has hedged its bets.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the first Labor caucus meeting at Parliament House.Credit:James Brickwood

There are still two seats undecided, but the provisional count suggests that the Coalition lost 19 seats, Labor picked up an extra nine, independents seven and the Greens three. The Albanese government has a majority of one or two.

Theres been a lot of talk about the disruptive force of the teal independents and whether the Liberals need to steer left or right (mostly right, say their media boosters) but less discussion about what the rise of the Greens will mean. The Greens look set to have 12 senators and, if they want, will be able to thwart much of the governments legislative agenda.

This doesnt necessarily mean the new government cant go on to a long and happy existence; performance and events will determine that. But there are lessons in this result for all sides and they mostly go to beliefs, philosophy and policy. One question parties should be asking themselves is: when it comes to ideology, how much is enough?

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The downfall of the Coalition government proves yet again that politics must ultimately be about more than power. Weve been here before. Theres a strong parallel between the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government and the Fraser government. Both served three terms. In both cases, prior to taking office the Coalition struggled to cope with being consigned to opposition and the fact the public had elected and then re-elected a Labor government.

Apart from Malcolm Turnbulls brief, ill-fated attempt to work with Kevin Rudd on an emissions trading scheme in 2009, the Liberals and Nationals during both eras squandered their opposition years. Sure, they destroyed their opponents within two terms, but they didnt have the debates about how to re-equip and develop a fresh policy perspective. Once back in office, they didnt set out to do much. All they knew was politics. All they had was politics.

By the third term, voters wanted something more forward-looking. Neither Fraser nor Morrison could provide that. Morrisons philosophical and ideological vacuity was not an accident. He was chosen out of panic after the Liberals had worked through Abbott, whose most successful setting was negative, and Turnbull, who was said to be too left-wing but was not, having agreed to stifle many of his inclinations to win back the leadership.

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The Greens could fatally wound Labor, as they have done before - Sydney Morning Herald

Several prominent liberals took to social media to praise the anonymous individual who leaked the Supreme Courts reported draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization Monday night, which appeared to show that the Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The unprecedented leak revealed that the majority of justices had reportedly agreed in a December vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protects abortion as a constitutional right, though the vote is not yet final and may still change, according to Politico. Some liberals praised the move as a heroic last-ditch effort to derail the Courts decision.

As we started discussing here, it is shocking both in substance and also shocking in terms of what it means about the court, and what it means about the stakes here that someone was willing to do this, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow saidlate Monday. It is just a remarkable thing.

Some liberals saw the public outcry over the leak as a good thing, noting that it could put pressure on justices to reconsider their decisions. (RELATED: States Considering A 15-Week Abortion Ban Anticipate Overturn Of Roe)

Is a brave clerk taking this unpredecented step of leaking a draft opinion to warn the country whats coming in a last-ditch Hail Mary attempt to see if the public response might cause the Court to reconsider? said Brian Fallon, executive director of the liberal group Demand Justice.

All Democrats need to show the same urgency as the clerk who apparently risked his or her career to sound this alarm. Those on the inside know best how broken the institution is. We should listen, Fallon added.

Seriously, shout out to whoever the hero was within the Supreme Court who said fuck it! Lets burn this place down,wrote Ian Millhiser, a senior correspondent at Vox .

A leak like this has never in the modern history of SCOTUS. It is a massive deal that someone thought the public deserved to see what was going on in their chambers. A hero, Jezebel senior reporter Caitlin Cruz said.

Some legal experts speculated that the leak may have violated the law. Mike Davis, a former clerk for Justice Gorsuch, said the leaker was likely guilty of felony obstruction of justice.

Editors note: This story incorrectly identified Mike Davis as a former clerk for Justice Samuel Alito, rather than Justice Neil Gorsuch. The story has been accurately updated.

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Liberals Cheer On SCOTUS Leaker Who Shattered Court Norms As Hero