CHRIS MINNS, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: I'm joined with the Prime Minister, the Minister for Police, the Commissioner for New South Wales Ambulance, and of course, Mal Lanyon, the New South Wales Police Commissioner. It's a very sad duty this morning to report that 16 people have been confirmed as being killed. 15 innocent people and one perpetrator. There are 42 people in New South Wales hospitals overnight, and the victims' age ranges are from as young as 10 to 87. A devastating fact. New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon will speak in a moment about Operation Shelter, the circumstances of this investigation, the counterterrorism plan from New South Wales Police, and the latest in relation to community safety, as well as the New South Wales Government's and the New South Wales Police's inquiry into this devastating crime. Obviously, the Jewish community in New South Wales are absolutely devastated this morning. And it's our responsibility to wrap our arms around that wounded community and let them know that ordinary Australians, regular Australians, are in their corner and thinking of them this morning after this terrible, terrible, targeted attack on what should have been a joyful event that they have every right to share with their community on Bondi Beach last night. We need to send a strong and clear repudiation of antisemitism in all of its forms. In all of its forms. There is no tolerance for racism or Jewish hatred in New South Wales or Australia. And we need to be clear and unambiguous that we will fight it everywhere we see it, whether it's destructive, horrible acts of violence or chance mottos and internet posts on the internet. Wherever it is, we need to fight antisemitism. It is toxic. It is cancerous within a community. And as you can see from last night, it leads to devastating, devastating implications for the people of our country. There's been overwhelming public outrage and support from the people of New South Wales, and I think from the people of Australia. There needs to be a time for mourning. We need to be in a position to bind up the wounds of the state's Jewish community. And many people are asking how they can help. The first thing, of course, is to listen to New South Wales Police and emergency services. But if you are looking for something practical to do, you could give blood. We saw extraordinary scenes from New South Wales public hospitals last night. Emergency departments, at the drop of a hat, were in the process of saving scores of lives. They did an incredible job, but they need your help. They need blood. And if you're thinking about doing an act of public service in the coming 24 hours, I'd urge you to contact the Red Cross and do that piece of public mindedness, that piece of public spiritedness. I want to say thank you to our amazing police force, who acted bravely and diligently in incredibly difficult circumstances. Thank you to the paramedics who, in some cases, under fire, transported the injured to New South Wales hospitals, to the doctors and nurses in our public hospitals, and lastly, thank you to innocent bystanders and civilians who stood up, risked their own lives to save other people's lives. This is a terrible, wanton act of destructive violence. But there are still amazing people that we have in Australia, and they showed their true colours last night. I'm going to pass over to the Prime Minister and then New South Wales Police Commissioner.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Premier. What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location, Bondi Beach. That is associated with joy, associated with families gathering, associated with celebrations. And it is forever tarnished by what has occurred last evening. This was an attack deliberately targeted at the Jewish community on the first day of Chanukah, which of course should be a joyous celebration. The Jewish community are hurting today. Today, all Australians wrap our arms around them and say, we stand with you. We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge and we will eradicate it together. The Australian Federal Police and ASIO are working closely with New South Wales authorities. And the briefing we've just had, we have had the AFP there and the AFP Commissioner will return to Australia today. We will dedicate every single resource that is required in responding to this. To the brave first responders, including ordinary citizens who acted yesterday - thank you for what you do. People rushing towards danger to show the best of the Australian character. That's who we are, people who stand up for our values. Flags will fly at half-mast across the country today as we pay our respects to all those lost and all those who have been injured. And we conclude by saying that yesterday was indeed a dark day in our nation's history. But we as a nation are stronger than the cowards who did this. I thank world leaders who have reached out from President Trump, President Macron, Prime Minister Starmer, others right around the world have reached out to Australia at this time and we thank you for your sympathy and your solidarity with our values. Australia will never submit to division, violence or hatred and we will come through this together. We refuse to let them divide us as a nation. I'll hand to Commissioner Lanyon now.
MAL LANYON, NSW POLICE COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Prime Minister. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Last night I announced that I had determined that it was a terrorist activity and made a declaration as such at 9.36pm. As a result of that declaration, we commenced Operation Arques, which is a joint counterterrorism operation. That is New South Wales Police working very closely with our Commonwealth partners to ensure that we thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the incident yesterday. We have progressed at pace overnight with that investigation. As a result of investigations undertaken, I can say that we are not looking for a further offender. We are satisfied that there were two offenders involved in yesterday's incident. One is deceased, the second is in critical but stable condition in hospital at the moment. The offenders are a 50-year-old and 24-year-old male who are father and son. The 50-year-old is deceased. The 24-year-old is currently in hospital at the moment. As part of the investigation, we conducted two search warrants last night. One at Bonnyrigg and a second at Campsie. The 50-year-old male is a licenced firearms holder. He has six firearms licenced to him. We are satisfied that we have six firearms from the scene yesterday, but also as a result of the search run at the Campsie address, ballistics and forensic investigation will determine this morning that those six firearms are the six that were licenced to that man, but also that they were used in the offence yesterday at Bondi. We will continue to investigate this matter thoroughly. It's important for the community to have the reassurance that New South Wales Police, working with our Commonwealth partners, will not stop until we understand the reasons behind this senseless incident and take any available action that we need to do. We always work closely with our Commonwealth partners to make sure that we keep the community safe. This is a very difficult time for all law enforcement agencies and I would really like to call out the work of New South Wales Ambulance last night and we're joined by the Commissioner Morgan this morning. The ambulance officers were absolutely outstanding in their response. 16 deceased persons is obviously a great tragedy for this state. Our thoughts, prayers and love go out to all of the families of the deceased. We pray that those who are injured recover quickly. I have two police officers currently in hospital at the moment. Both are in critical but stable condition. And again, the thoughts of the New South Wales Police are very much with those officers and their families. This morning, we commenced Operation Shelter. It is an operation that we have previously run. We have escalated the number of police that are involved. Operation Shelter is designed to provide comfort to the Jewish community. We will make sure that we are highly visible at places of worship, places that are known to be frequented by the Jewish community, but very much in those suburbs where we know that we have a large Jewish population. I want to make it very clear that the New South Wales Police will not tolerate the types of violence or the types of antisemitic behaviour that we have seen. We will have 328 officers on the ground this morning as part of Operation Shelter. That operation will continue to work very closely with the Jewish community to make sure that we both prevent but also respond to anything that may happen. I was very clear last night to call for calm. This is not a time for anyone to be seeking retribution. This is a time for community to grieve and to heal. The New South Wales Police will do what it does best and that is to prevent but investigate offences that happen. And we will be here to support the community. I might hand over to Commissioner Morgan. I think if there's anything you'd like to say, sir.
DOMINIC MORGAN, NSW AMBULANCE COMMISSIONER: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Could I just express my condolences to the victims, the families and friends and certainly those that remain in hospital at this time. Our best wishes and prayers are going out to you. This was obviously a significant incident that has occurred at Bondi Beach last night. New South Wales Ambulance got its initial call via New South Wales Police at 18:43 last evening. Our first crews were on scene within less than ten minutes. This took a response of more than 123 personnel from New South Wales Ambulance. Both New South Wales Police and New South Wales Ambulance worked seamlessly, I'm advised, through this entire incident in support of the community. I cannot convey how important that is. We are told stories of amazing heroism of paramedics and police working seamlessly together with members of the community. Some of our paramedics are from the Jewish community and attended that scene and continued their duties diligently and professionally. Of that initial response, New South Wales Ambulance transported 24 patients, particularly in the first wave, and attended 14 people who were deceased at the scene. Through the course of the evening, another two people succumbed to their conditions at New South Wales hospitals, and a total of 42 people attended New South Wales facilities. It is not uncommon in these major incidents for members of the community, sometimes often with very serious injuries, to make their own way to hospitals so that they are not burdening the resources, the services. This is what it means to be Australian. I do want to make the point that there is significant amount of support available from the New South Wales Health Service system. I could commend to the community that there are great resources available on the New South Wales Health website if you need mental health support and some reference material if you also need that. Just in conclusion, I do want to make the point - there were some amazing lessons learned from the Bondi Westfield Shopping Centre. Last night, I am told the command structures were seamless. The joint agency approach, the ability for paramedics, with the support of police, to work in these hot zones, I'm absolutely convinced, contributed to the saving of lives that otherwise would have been lost. Finally, just one message for the first responders at these scenes. You are an inspiration to us all. The way you put yourself in harm's way, your courage and resilience, we all thank you.
JOURNALIST: Commissioner Lanyon, can you elaborate? You said yesterday that one of the gunmen was known to police. Was that gunman known to police for extremist views and were any terror symbols displayed at the attack yesterday?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I’d prefer not to comment at the moment. We're still very early in the investigation. We'll be happy to provide further information as it goes along. I want to give our investigators the opportunity to investigate thoroughly, without speculation. We did hear last night a lot of information was coming forward. I want to make sure that it's accurate.
JOURNALIST: Commissioner, there are reports a black ISIS-style flag was draped over the gunmen’s car. Are police aware of this? Has a flag been recovered?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: That's all part of the investigation. As I just said before, I'd rather not comment on that right at the moment. Obviously, we will look at the motives behind this attack and I think that's really important as part of the investigation. Our investigation will be thorough and we will be happy to provide further information.
JOURNALIST: Was there any indication that the shooters were known to any service ahead of time?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: There was no indication to indicate that either of the men involved in yesterday's attack was planning the attack that happened yesterday.
JOURNALIST: Did they leave any manifesto or notes?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: Again, that is part of the investigation. I don't want to go into that this morning. We've got investigators that have been working around the clock. I'm incredibly proud of the work that has been undertaken so far. We want to get to the bottom of this. We want to understand the motives behind it and we certainly want to understand the actions that have happened. I cannot give a running commentary on the investigation. I want to give the investigators time to work through this properly.
JOURNALIST: Is there anything you can tell us about ideology?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: At this stage, no, I won't comment on that. We'll continue to work through that. That is part of the investigation, to understand the motives behind it.
JOURNALIST: For how long had the 50-year-old had a gun licence? And you said yesterday that the deceased was known to police here. Was the same individual the one that was known to ASIO? Do you understand anything about that?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I think last night, there was wide speculation that the younger of the two men had been deceased. That's not the case. The older man was deceased. I'm told that he has had a gun licence for approximately 10 years.
JOURNALIST: And the younger man, he was the one known to police and to ASIO? Do you have any more information on that?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: No, I don't. And I think I said last night it was very limited knowledge.
JOURNALIST: Can you elaborate on why he was known to police?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: No, I can't. Not this morning. That's all part of the investigation.
JOURNALIST: Can you confirm the identities of the gunmen and whether they were staying at an Airbnb in Campsie?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I can certainly indicate that they were staying at an address at Campsie. Their residential address is in Bonnyrigg. They were staying at an address in Campsie.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has laid some blame at on your feet. What is your response to Netanyahu's comments yesterday? They were pretty inflammatory.
PRIME MINISTER: This is a moment for national unity. This is a moment for Australians to come together. That's precisely what we will be doing.
JOURNALIST: Is it a failure that these men weren’t seriously on the radar of our authorities?
PRIME MINISTER: Our authorities do an extraordinary job. An extraordinary job. As Commissioner Lanyon has said, investigations have already made some progress, the fact that there were raids on the home in Bonnyrigg and at Campsie last night. We will continue to provide every resource, every resource possible to the AFP and as well to our intelligence and security agencies.
JOURNALIST: Police Commissioner, not looking for a third offender, that means not just no third shooter, but no other persons of interest or suspected accessories. How do you know that these two were acting alone?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: What I'm saying is that we will conduct a thorough investigation. If there is any other person that is associated with the two offenders that we believe that was either involved or responsible for what took place, we will take appropriate action. What I'm saying very clearly is that there were two persons involved yesterday. There were two persons in this atrocity. We are not looking for a third person who was involved in yesterday's incident directly.
JOURNALIST: Is this a failure that this man was able to get a gun licence and he was not more on the radar of authorities?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I think there's actually legislation that governs how people have a firearms licence. So, what I've said so far, and I'm not going to go further into it at this stage – there was very little knowledge of either of these men by the authorities. The person was determined to be entitled to have a firearms licence and had a firearms licence. The person had a firearms licence for a number of years for which there were no incidents, and it was regulated.
JOURNALIST: Do you see that as a failure?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I think it's probably premature to be talking about this when I'm speaking about an investigation. We want to get to the circumstances of everything that occurred yesterday and what led up to it. We are determined to make sure that investigation is thorough.
JOURNALIST: Why was there so little knowledge of these individuals, particularly the 24-year-old, who you didn't know about? This was a planned attack. Doesn't appear to have been something that spontaneously happened.
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I think that's really part of the investigation. We want to understand the motive behind these two people. There are many people in the community for which the police have very little knowledge about, and quite rightly so. We want to understand whether these people were further involved in any offences. But we have no history to say that's the case.
JOURNALIST: Are their families cooperating?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: We will be speaking to the families. We have spoken to the families.
JOURNALIST: What was the purpose of the firearms licence? What was his reason for having firearms?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I don't have that information this morning. What I've said is that he did hold a firearms licence and did have six registered firearms.
JOURNALIST: Premier, clearly it's early in the investigation, but obviously a terrorist has been able to hold a firearms licence. If changes need to be made to our gun laws in New South Wales, will you make changes?
PREMIER MINNS: The short answer is yes, we're looking at that right now. Obviously, we're in the early stages of this investigation. New South Wales Police need to provide all the details of this inquiry to the Government. But I made it clear last night that we will take every step we possibly can to keep our community safe and we'll be looking at law reform along that route. And this is an intolerable situation. This is an attempt to break apart our social life, to divide Australian against Australian. There's a massive role for the Government, New South Wales Police and regular citizens to play here to ensure that we keep our community safe. And I won't hesitate to move legislation if it's required.
JOURNALIST: Premier, do you see this as a failure? That this man and his son were not picked up by authorities and were able to get a gun licence?
PREMIER MINNS: Look, I can't say at this point. I mean, I think it's important that we allow police to conduct their investigation. Of course there will be a comprehensive inquiry. This is a massive terrorist event in Australia's largest city targeted on Jewish Australians. We need to get to the bottom of exactly how this happened so that we can take steps to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Now, I think in these circumstances it's important that no stone is left unturned and New South Wales Police are given time to conduct that investigation. But we have to do everything we possibly can to ensure that this doesn't happen again. Part of that may be law reform. Almost certainly it will be. Part of it will be a comprehensive police response. But it also goes down to the level of confronting racism and antisemitism in our community. We saw a shocking act of public violence yesterday afternoon, but we've seen time after time over the last two years in particular, but even before that of public acts of antisemitism in our community. It lights a fire, it's toxic. It gets into the marrow of a community. And the only sensible, fair and just response is a community standing up as one and saying, we will not tolerate racism and we will not tolerate antisemitism in New South Wales.
JOURNALIST: Eyewitness reports last night included that police, up to four police, were standing around one of the active shooters. Not giving fire back, standing, just standing there. An eyewitness said that it was like they froze –
PREMIER MINNS: James. No, sorry, hang on a sec. I'm just going to stop you there. I am not going to speculate on that right now. What I will say is that there are two New South Wales Police officers in critical condition in New South Wales hospitals who stepped into the breach and could have lost their lives last night. I'm not going to go into the circumstances of police officers that returned fire, but I can tell you their bravery, their courage in these circumstances saved countless lives. And I would just urge everybody, don't jump to conclusions at this point. It's important that we have a full and comprehensive investigation, but certainly don't run down the police at this early hour.
JOURNALIST: Can you provide us with some more detail on what explosive devices were found at the scene and what was done to disarm them?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: Yes, certainly. There were two improvised explosive devices found at the scene. They were taken by our rescue and bomb disposal unit. They were found to be active devices, so they were taken back and rendered safe by our police, who do a professional job.
JOURNALIST: And does that mean they could have been triggered by phones, or can you tell us anything about how they would have been triggered?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: I believe that they were more rudimentary than that. I think it would have been, there would have been a wick or something similar that would have been used to actually do that. I think they were fairly basic in terms of their construction.
JOURNALIST: Do you have any intelligence that suggests how they were going to be used?
COMMISSIONER LANYON: No, I don't. Not at this stage. That's why we're investigating so thoroughly. We want to get to the bottom of this. I've made it really clear that we want to understand every circumstance. I am very glad that those devices were not activated. But really, our thoughts and prayers at the moment are with everyone who has lost someone.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, Jewish Australians have been warning that something like this could have happened. They have been petrified for more than 12 months now. Has your Government failed Jewish Australians when their worst nightmare was realised last night?
PRIME MINISTER: My Government will continue to stand with Jewish Australians and continue to stand to stamp out antisemitism in all of its forms. We have taken strong action. We'll continue to work with the community. This morning I've already had a discussion with the Antisemitism Envoy, the first one ever appointed in Australia, Jillian Segal. Last night I spoke with Peter Wertheim and other leaders of the Jewish community. We'll continue to work with them because this is a time where all Australians need to wrap our arms around Jewish Australians. So, we stand with them. We stand against antisemitism. We will do whatever is necessary to stamp it out. Antisemitism is a scourge. It's been around for a long period of time. We need to do whatever we can to stamp it out.
JOURNALIST: Do we need a gun crackdown like John Howard carried out after Port Arthur? He took leadership on that. Will you?
PRIME MINISTER: We will look at whatever is necessary, whatever comes out of this investigation. If there is any action required in terms of legislative response, we will certainly have it. Thank you.