CHRIS MINNS, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Appreciate you all being here. I'm joined, of course, with the Prime Minister, Commissioner Lanyon, Commissioner Barrett, the Minister for Mental Health, Rose Jackson, the Chief Psychiatrist, and the Minister for Police. Obviously, we'll give an update on the latest in relation to the investigation and related matters. I want to make it clear after speaking with the Prime Minister and the National Cabinet, as well as the New South Wales Cabinet, that our response to this horrifying tragedy must be comprehensive and has begun already. Our approach to this terrible crime in New South Wales is multifaceted, but I want to make it clear that our efforts to firstly work with the New South Wales Police on counter terrorism efforts continue. Secondly, fighting antisemitism in our community, which will not be done in a week or a month, that it's a long term important project for the Government of New South Wales working with civic leaders and the people of this state. Thirdly, gun law reform in New South Wales with legislation brought into the New South Wales Parliament to make gun laws tougher in this state. I'm determined to bring in the toughest gun laws in Australia and they'll be significantly tightened in New South Wales. And lastly, and importantly, and this has been reflected from civic leaders, community leaders across this state, bringing New South Wales together as a time of healing. I saw on the news some of the rabbis who gave some incredible, heartfelt messages to the New South Wales community about coming together, showing love to one another and getting through this through healing. And I thought that they were incredibly important messages right now in New South Wales. Messages that we all need to hear. I'm very grateful for their intervention. I want to speak a little bit about blood donations too. I'm very happy to report that there has been 50,000 appointments to give blood in New South Wales, which I understand is a fivefold increase. I say to the people of New South Wales, don't give up. If you haven't got an appointment, if you can't get in immediately, we require your blood. Be a blood donor in New South Wales. To put this in perspective, for somebody in trauma they may need 100 individual donations to save their life. So this is an urgent priority. Don't give up if you're at the end of the line, make an appointment. Do a wonderful bit of civic and public duty. I'm also here to report that small business help will be forthcoming in the next 24 hours or we'll announce a program in the next 24 hours for small businesses in the Bondi area. We know there's huge disruption associated with this huge police investigation. There's been an impact on the local community and part of our job after this investigation moves on is to ensure that we lift back up the Bondi community and we give people a place to come together and to return to a semblance of normal life. I want to make it clear, none of the shopkeepers, none of them have complained about this at all. But we want to have their back as they open their doors in the coming days. There's lots to say, I just want to thank the public, in particular the Jewish community and interfaith leaders, for their warm support in the Government's decision to put a menorah on the New South Wales Opera House to celebrate the second day of Chanukah. This has been a tragic event, tragic event for the Jewish community of New South Wales and Australia. But we're determined to meet it head on with a program and a set of reforms to ensure that we do everything we possibly can to ensure that it's not repeated. I'm going to pass over to the Prime Minister and then Commissioner Lanyon.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Chris. My message to Jewish Australians is that we stand with you as a nation. We embrace you at what is a terrible time. These antisemitic terrorist attacks will not be successful with their objective, which is to divide us as a nation. We will continue to come together as a nation and to embrace each other. Earlier today, I met with Australian hero, Ahmed El Ahmed and his family. I met his mum and dad, who are visiting him here, as well as other relatives at St. George Hospital. I thanked him for the lives that he helped to save, and I wished him all the very best with his surgery that he will undertake tomorrow. And I was able to also thank the health professionals, the doctors, nurses and staff at St. George Hospital for providing support for him. Sunday's tragedy will have, of course, an immediate and lasting impact on many Australians. But for the Jewish community here in Sydney and nationally, first responders and people in Bondi and Sydney, the impact will be particularly acute. The Australian Government has made significant investments in mental health support, including expanding Headspace and the creation of Medicare Mental Health Centres. And I encourage all Australians affected by this tragedy to consider accessing the mental health support, including through Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. Headspace for Children and Young People and Medicare Mental Health Centres are of course available to support people affected by this tragedy. Yesterday I convened National Cabinet where National Cabinet again spoke about the scourge of antisemitism and the commitment to stamp it out. We also agreed that Premier Minns and Premier Cook, as the incoming Chair of the Council of Australian Federation, would work together to strengthen Australia's gun laws. The very nature of our gun laws means that they are only as strong as the weakest link, which is why we want to make sure that they followed Premier Minn's lead in committing to strengthening the gun laws that were of course created in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy some 30 years ago to give credit to the Howard government of that time and the bipartisan nature in which it was adopted. The consideration that will take place includes limiting the number of guns an individual can own, the type of guns that are legal, whether gun ownership should require Australian citizenship, and accelerating work on the National Firearms Register. This is an agreement that we reached through the National Cabinet at the end of 2023. We've provided over $160 million to do that, included in that is over $100 million to states and territories. It is a fact that for some states and territories they still have paper records and that obviously makes it impossible to check across boundaries in a quick and efficient manner. And the digitisation that is required, we've agreed to accelerate that. We will continue to engage and this afternoon I'll have further meetings, another meeting of the National Security Committee, further meetings this afternoon. My government is absolutely committed to working with NSW as well as working with community organisations, particularly Jewish community organisations at this time. I'll call upon the Commissioner Barrett to make some comments before we go to questions. Commissioner Lanyon, first.
MAL LANYON, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE COMMISSIONER: Thanks, Prime Minister. I'll start first. I’d just like to give an update. Our two parallel investigations are ongoing. We have a critical incident investigation which investigates the role of police in the matter and certainly in terms of the death of the 50 year old male and the injury to the 24 year old male. Whilst that's continuing, we have a joint counter terrorism operation running at the same time. And I welcome my fellow Commissioner, Commissioner Barrett, here from the AFP to talk about that this morning. There is still a crime scene in place in Campbell Parade and down around Bondi Beach. I anticipate that will stay in place until tomorrow afternoon where it will be released to the public. We continue with forensic and ballistic examinations. I have made it really clear in previous conferences that this will be a thorough investigation. I apologise for the disruptions to pedestrians and traffic while that crime scene is in place, but I'm sure all of the community understands the importance of investigating this abhorrent matter. The Community Reception Centre has been open and activated at the Intercontinental Hotel at Coogee. That will provide health support to people who require it, mental health support, but also allows us to speak to those who are witnesses to this incident and treat them sensitively. The Public Information and Inquiry Centre is operating. That number is 1800 227 228. It's been really important to give our investigators in the joint counter terrorism space time to investigate this matter before releasing too much information. There has been reports in the news about our two offenders travelling to the Philippines last month. I can confirm that they did travel to the Philippines. The reasons why they went to the Philippines and the purpose of that and where they went when they were there is under investigation at the moment. I also confirmed that the vehicle which is registered to the younger male contained IEDs. But I also confirm that it contained two homemade ISIS flags. We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy and will continue to do so. And I think it's really important that our investigators continue to be given time to do that. This is a very complex investigation and important that we do it thoroughly. Operation Shelter ramped up yesterday. We have static patrols or static guards at a range of locations around the eastern suburbs, particularly Jewish places of worship and other important locations to the Jewish community. In addition to that we have mobile patrols and I want to make it very clear to the Jewish community, as we did to their leaders yesterday, that the New South Wales Police stands right beside you. We are here to keep you safe. I want the community to feel safe and be able to go around their way of life. New South Wales Police will maintain a significant response in Operation Shelter to ensure that the community can go about their normal way of life. I would like to correct a record - I have been indicating that Sajid Akram, the 50 year old male, has held a firearms licence since 2015. Mr Akram applied for that licence on 8th October 2015 and it was recommended that it be issued in November 2015. I'm advised that he did not get a photo taken as required by that licence and the application lapsed in 2016. A second category A/B licence was applied for Mr Akram in 2020. That licence was recommended for issue and issued in 2023. I think it's important that the transparent nature of the investigation provides that change. The initial information had been that it had been issued in 2015 and I think it's important to give that detail. He was licensed to hold a Category A/B licence and the firearms that we have seized were attached to that licence appropriately. I'll hand over now to Commissioner Barrett, but happy to take some questions later.
KRISSY BARRETT, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good afternoon. Last night with Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, I had the chance to lay a wreath at Bondi Beach after immediately returning from an overseas work matter. Between the time of this attack and until I landed back in Australia, I have had regular contact with the Prime Minister, with Minister Burke, with NSW New South Wales Police Commissioner Lanyon, and with the AFP's Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Command, as well as senior Jewish leaders. These are my first public comments on the terrorist attack since I have returned to Australia and I want to describe this attack in my own words so there is no confusion and no ambiguity about the AFP's position. This was a barbaric attack against Australians, Jewish Australians. On Sunday, Jewish Australians were hunted down in broad daylight at an iconic Australian beach. The suspected murderers, callous in how they allegedly coordinated their attack, appear to have had no regard for the age or ableness of their victims. It appears the alleged killers were interested only in a quest for a death tally. Like October 7, 2023, we will not forget how that shocking attack forced Jews around the world to relive modern day terror that should have been consigned to the history books decades ago. In Australia, the AFP will never forget the date of December 14th and what it means for a community that deserves to live in peace and harmony. It is understandable and right that the community wants answers and it is appropriate that the AFP and New South Wales Police provide this information not only to provide answers to a community that is in shock and grieving, but also to protect how we live together safely in multicultural Australia, including calling out misinformation that could fuel retribution type incidents. Because of these factors, we will provide information that does not impact on our investigation, noting that one alleged offender remains in hospital and is facing significant charges. Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, allegedly committed by a father and son. There is no evidence to suggest other individuals were involved in this attack. However, we caution that this could change given it is early in our investigation. Alleged evidence has provided investigators with a swathe of information that has enabled them to make this initial assessment about the alleged individuals involved and their motivations. These are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion. The New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which includes the AFP, New South Wales Police, ASIO and the New South Wales Crime Commission is continuing to review the significant material seized during search warrants and we will not provide further details of that material today for obvious reasons. The AFP and New South Wales Police have a responsibility to keep the community safe and I want to thank Commissioner Lanyon for his steel-like leadership during this time and also acknowledge the brave men and women of New South Wales Police who have showed courage, amazing courage, in the face of cowards. Now, we understand words and information are important for context and for comfort. However, we are very much focused on action, including conducting a thorough investigation. This investigation will be highly visible, precise and it will operate around the clock. The New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team investigation will leverage all unique powers, capabilities and international networks.
JOURNALIST: Commissioners, where and with whom did the Akrams carry out their militant training in the Philippines? And when did Australian authorities first have intelligence about that training?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I think we've been fairly clear that the reason that the Akrams travelled to the Philippines, where they went, is unknown at this stage and subject to the investigation.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe that any of their associates had prior knowledge of the attack?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: Sorry, can you just repeat.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe that any of their associates had prior knowledge of the attack?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: That's obviously part of the investigation. We've been fairly clear that we believe that there were two people involved this cowardly attack. We continue to investigate the matter thoroughly to determine if there is anyone else involved.
JOURNALIST: Did the trip to the Philippines trigger any security alert in Australia? And if not, was that an intelligence failure?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: Not that I'm aware of and I don't believe it was an intelligence failure at all. We're talking about something that's retrospective post what is a horrific crime. We've indicated this will be a thorough investigation. Both New South Wales Police and the AFP are committed to that. We are finding information post the event.
JOURNALIST: But given the Naveed Akram’s longstanding ties to extremists in Australia, why did his father receive a firearms licence? And why were they allowed to travel overseas in Australia?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: The issue of the firearms licence is something that I've addressed previously and something that is subject of investigation. The Firearms Act has certain requirements. Mr. Akram was entitled to make an application. The information that was available at the time was used to assess that information and a licence was issued.
JOURNALIST: Commissioner, [inaudible] told the Seven Network this morning he saw four police officers at the scene in Bondi. None of them fired a weapon and he was saying he didn't understand why. He's an Israeli national. So, [inaudible] what do you say to him that the police didn't do their job and fire back at that gunman?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I can't comment in relation to that actual report. What I'll say is that I'm incredibly proud of our police officers. They were confronted by two men armed with long arms. Our police at the scene were armed with pistols. That is –
JOURNALIST: Can you just outline when did the first police officer arrive at the scene?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I don’t have that in front of me. That's obviously part of the investigation. I've been really clear. Both the critical incident investigation and the JCTT investigation will be thorough.
JOURNALIST: We haven't heard Commissioner Barrett before about how would you describe the adequacy of the police presence at Bondi? And can you and Commissioner Lanyon explain why Local Area Command was considered sufficient security for that event? Commissioner Lanyon, you just observed that they only had pistols. Is that all that they had? And why were there not more police resources there? This is a police force that has access to Bearcat armoured vehicles, for instance. Why were there not more resources there?
COMMISSIONER BARRETT: I'll let Commissioner Lanyon answer that question, given it relates to New South Wales Police.
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I'll reiterate that is subject to the investigation at the moment. We base our policing response on the threat that exists at the time. A lot of work is done between ourselves and the Jewish community. Obviously, Bondi Beach is a large and public area. We regularly patrol that area as we did on that day.
JOURNALIST: How many police were at the festival?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: previously that they received taskings to go to the Bondi Beach. So, there were police moving through there at all times.
JOURNALIST: How many were at the scene? How many were at the scene?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I can't tell you at any particular time. As I said, they received taskings. So, we had police moving through the area regularly.
JOURNALIST: The Commissioner, were there two officers posted there for the festival? And were those two officers the ones that were injured?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I don’t have that information for you at the moment, Damien. What I'll say is we had an appropriate policing response to ensure that police were moving through there, working closely with the community. We take safety very seriously and I think you've seen that from the New South Wales Police. We are here to support the community. We're here to keep the community safe. Had there been intelligence that there was a particular threat at that location or to that event, we may have had a different policing response.
JORUNALIST: Were they the ones patrolling? Were they the ones that were in the vicinity or were they first responders?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: Large number of police responding there at the moment. I don’t want to give information about that whilst the critical incident investigation closes.
PREMIER MINNS: I feel it's incredibly important of me, as the Premier of New South Wales, to respond to some of these questions. The New South Wales Police acted with bravery and integrity. They didn't take a backward step. They engaged the gunmen on the footbridge with handguns. The offenders had long range rifles and New South Wales police officers were responsible for killing one of them and shooting the other one and as a result saving many, many people's lives. Now there are two officers in critical care in New South Wales hospitals at the moment. They weren't shot in the back as they were running away, they were shot in the front. I'm sorry to be graphic about it, but if there's any suggestion that New South Wales Police didn't live up to their responsibilities to the people of this state, it should be rejected because it's not consistent with the facts. New South Wales police officers, some of whom had been in the job for a number of months, put their lives on the line to save people in this state. And I think this rush to conclusions before all the facts are known, in my view, is disrespectful to their actions on Sunday.
JOURNALIST: How many police were stationed there? How many police were stationed there? Was it a failure of staffing?
PREMIER MINNS: I don't think there's any doubt that if we had our time again, of course we would do things differently. And part of our response with the Jewish community and the people of New South Wales, through Operation Shelter, working closely with the CSG who are responsible for security in the Jewish community, is to ensure that we can work with them in the future. I can't take back Sunday, nobody can. But what we can do is ensure that in the future we are putting security in place so that we rebuild trust with the Jewish community. I know that this is an existential threat for some members of the Jewish community because this was a targeted attack on members of the Jewish community. I know in many cases I saw Rabbi Wolf speak passionately about being more Jewish, refusing to hide. I thought that was such a brave and important message to send to the people of Australia and New South Wales. But we have to work with them and walk with them on that journey. And it is - hang on a second. And it's an urgent priority to rebuild Jewish social life in this state.
JOURNALIST: We've just learned that a gun licence for Sajid Akram was granted in 2023 after his son became, authorities became aware of his son. Was it then a failure of intelligence that the New South Wales Police Firearms Registry who were able to grant those licences, did not know that his son, with whom he lived, was at one stage under the investigation?
PREMIER MINNS: Look, it's too early to say or make a pronouncement in relation to that, but one aspect of gun law reform that is absolutely essential in NSW, and it will be controversial, is for police to use criminal intelligence, not just a criminal record, in determining whether someone should keep a gun licence or even be granted a gun licence in this state. And what I'm trying to say is, if we can craft a law that the Police Commissioner can say, ‘I've got concerns about this person, I don't want them having access to a gun, notwithstanding the fact that they don't have a criminal record’, that's the kind of legislation that we want to see in New South Wales.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Naveed Akram reportedly had links to Islamic State through connections he made as a follower of jihadist preacher Wisam Haddad. Is radical Islam a problem? And how can hate preaching still be allowed?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we know already is, as part of the investigation, is it goes to motive. And what is being investigated, as the Commissioner has said, is that it would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organisation, by ISIS. Now, some of the evidence which is being procured, including the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized, are a part of that. Radical perversion of Islam is absolutely a problem. It is something that has been identified globally as a problem as well. ISIS has created by an evil ideology that has been called out not just by the Australian Government, but globally as well.
JOURNALIST: What are you doing right now to clamp down on hate preaching? What are you doing right - just on that, just on that - what are you doing right now to combat hate preaching? To crack down on hate?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, we have passed legislation to outlaw hate speech. The first government to do so, to put in place those laws as part of our response to antisemitism.
JOURNALIST: Can you just confirm - there's been a lot of misinformation flying around about the student visa that Tony Burke mentioned yesterday. Can you confirm the country of origin, whether it's India or Pakistan? And also how long were they in the Philippines and was that monitored by Filipino intelligence agencies?
PRIME MINISTER: They are all part of the investigation, so I can't go into that detail and it wouldn't be appropriate to undermine the investigation by going into it.
JOURNALIST: A question on National Cabinet yesterday. We've just broken the story at The Australian in relation to that meeting. It says, state leaders were forced to push you on solutions to antisemitism, that you didn't offer any yourself. The draft document that was presented to State Premiers contained one paragraph about the issue of antisemitism and this was later changed to add a second paragraph that included existing policies that you were already working on. Why are you not announcing a suite of antisemitism measures right now instead of talking about gun control?
PRIME MINISTER: The report is not accurate. The meeting yesterday had front and centre a commitment: ‘Prime Minister today convened a meeting in National Cabinet following the evil antisemitic terrorist attack directed at members of the Jewish community celebrating Chanukah at Sydney's Bondi Beach’ –
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER: No, that is not accurate, it's just not right.
JOURNALIST: In that meeting did you specifically raise Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism? Your handpicked Envoy, was that referenced?
PRIME MINISTER: What we did was we referenced the ongoing work including the national hate crimes and incident database –
JOURNALIST: Not ongoing work –
PRIME MINISTER: That is what it is. We have taken the report from the Antisemitism Envoy and what we are doing is busy implementing it, and we talked about that yesterday. We went through the full range of measures which we are doing. I talked about it, including the hate speech, Nazi symbols, what we are doing on doxing, what we have done with the creation of the National Student Ombudsman, what we are doing with the education program on Together for Humanity and schools as well as security, migration issues and cultural issues as well.
JOURNALIST: What would an appropriate limit on gun numbers for ownership be? And when can we expect to see a national register?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, what we have done is to task through National Cabinet, Premier Minns and Premier Cook, who's the incoming Chair of the Council of Australian Federation, to work on that and come back to National Cabinet.
JOURNALIST: Premier, how soon could New South Wales Parliament be recalled to legislate that? Have the Coalition offered you bipartisan support for that? And also for Mr. Albanese, are you disappointed about a lack of bipartisan support?
PREMIER MINNS: There's a lot of questions. I would say pre-Christmas. Logistically we're working with our MPs to get back into Parliament as soon as possible. I haven't had a detailed discussion with the Leader of the Opposition, but in fairness to her, we don't have a draft bill. What I have been able to say is that she's been incredible working with us over the last 24, 48 hours. She's the member for that community and I can't speak highly enough of the bipartisan way she's approached this incredible tragedy. So, I don't want to, I don't want to speak for the Coalition but we’re –
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister. Prime Minister.
PREMIER MINNS: I don’t want to speak for the Coalition, but I think we'll be in a position to do this together.
JOURNALIST: Are you considering any kind of crackdown the Al Madina Dawah Centre and do you believe that any sort of action on extremism and curbing antisemitism should take precedence over gun reform?
PREMIER MINNS: Do all these things together, I mean that's the truth. This is just a horrible, horrible crime and I think taking one action would note would be nowhere near enough, nowhere near enough to combat the scale of the challenges that are in front of us. So, yes, we do have to do gun reform.
JOURNALIST: [inaudible]
PREMIER MINNS: Sorry folks, I know you want to get your questions out but I think it's reasonable we get an answer out. Yes, we have to do gun control. It's incredibly important that we fight antisemitism. And one of the things about antisemitism is that it begins with hate speech, then it might be a chant at a rally, then it moves online, then it becomes graffiti on a Jewish building, then it's malicious damage, then arson, and then it escalates to the kind of horrific violence that we saw yesterday. We have to combat it across the board.
JOURNALIST: Do you support a Royal Commission on this? And will you invite the President or the Prime Minister of Israel to Australia?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we're working through all of these issues. Our focus has been on the immediate response, the investigation. National Cabinet meeting yesterday. Our National Security Committee will meet again this afternoon. We'll continue to monitor all of these issues and to Paul's question that was, I didn’t get to –
JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed about a lack of bipartisanship on the federal level?
PRIME MINISTER: This is not a time for politics. This is a time for national unity and I think that, you know, we have organised for the Leader of the Opposition to receive a briefing from the security agencies yesterday. I think that her statement on Sunday night was entirely appropriate and we stand ready to work across the Parliament. I've had a number of discussions with the Leader of the Opposition on Sunday night. On Monday, I discussed with Allegra Spender, as a local Member for Wentworth as well, we particularly have had a range of discussions. But I think what Australians want is to come together. What terrorists seek to do is to create division, is to create conflict, is to undermine social cohesion. At that time, we're a better country than that, and we can't allow their objective to be successful. And that is why we must come together as a nation. I think, overwhelmingly that is the feedback that I get across the board of what people want to see. Thank you.