Speaker 1: Already and this is the daily This is the Daily OS. Oh,
Speaker 1: now it makes sense. Good morning and welcome to the
Speaker 1: Daily OOS. It's Tuesday, the sixteenth of December.
Speaker 2: I'm Emma Gillespie, I'm Sam Kelowski.
Speaker 1: On Sunday evening, a terror attack unfolded on the shores
Speaker 1: of Australia's most recognized beach. Two gunmen, a father and son,
Speaker 1: fired dozens of bullets at a Jewish community event in Bondai,
Speaker 1: targeting crowds attending celebrations to mark the beginning of Hunaka.
Speaker 1: At the time of recording, at least sixteen people are dead,
Speaker 1: including one of the gunmen, and forty are injured. Among
Speaker 1: those killed is a ten year old child.
Speaker 3: His cowardly act of terrifying violence is shocking and painful
Speaker 3: to see and represents some of our worst fears about
Speaker 3: terrorism in Sydney.
Speaker 4: Flagged well lie at half masted across the country today,
Speaker 4: as we pay our respects to all those lost and
Speaker 4: all those who have been.
Speaker 1: Injured, it's hard to make sense of this unspeakable tragedy
Speaker 1: as the nation mourns one of the worst mass shootings
Speaker 1: in Australian history. But today we want to bring you
Speaker 1: up to speed with everything we know about the Bondai
Speaker 1: beach attack and how Australia and the world is responding.
Speaker 2: And this is a story that hits very close to
Speaker 2: home for us at TDA and for me personally as well.
Speaker 2: I've lived in Bondai my whole life. I'm a member
Speaker 2: of the Jewish community there. I was in lockdown in
Speaker 2: a building across the road from the site of the
Speaker 2: shooting for a couple of hours on Sunday evening. It's
Speaker 2: been one of the most surreal twenty four to forty
Speaker 2: eight hour periods I can remember. Yeah, but it's dominating
Speaker 2: headlines all around the world. We've seen a lot of misinformation.
Speaker 2: So I think it would be helpful if you can
Speaker 2: take us back to the start and we spend a
Speaker 2: bit of time laying out how everything unfolded on Sunday afternoon. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So it was a perfect summer evening in Bondai, as
Speaker 1: you would have known, Sam being there yourself. It was
Speaker 1: about six forty pm on Sunday when a series of
Speaker 1: gun shots rang out near a local Jewish community gathering
Speaker 1: right by the beach. Emergency services were called to the
Speaker 1: scene and arrived there promptly where police located two men
Speaker 1: using rifles and shotguns to fire into crowds of people.
Speaker 1: Multiple videos posted to social media show those two gunmen
Speaker 1: standing on a footbridge connecting Campbell Parade to the Bondai Pavilion,
Speaker 1: a massively popular thoroughfare at that iconic site, firing shots
Speaker 1: into the crowd.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Speaking at a press conference on Sunday night, New South
Speaker 1: Wales Premier Chris Mins said the attack was quote designed
Speaker 1: to target Sydney's Jewish community.
Speaker 2: And we know that because police are saying the shooters
Speaker 2: were clearly targeting a religious celebration in Bondai. It only
Speaker 2: took a couple of hours for officials to make that declaration.
Speaker 2: Tell me how they made that connection.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate the
Speaker 1: start of the Jewish festival of Hanakah. There was this event,
Speaker 1: Haneker by the Sea, which started at five pm in
Speaker 1: Bondi Beach Park, right next to a children's playground. And
Speaker 1: this really was a family celebration in every sense. We
Speaker 1: had live entertainment, activities, music games. It was billed as
Speaker 1: a fun for all ages event on the promotions, the posters.
Speaker 1: So there was that going on in the middle of
Speaker 1: you know what is already typically a really popular and
Speaker 1: busy part of Bondai, especially at this time of year.
Speaker 1: People swimming in the beach, having picnics nearby, attending the
Speaker 1: many restaurants and bars and venues surrounding festive celebrations. There
Speaker 1: would have been several thousands of people in the vicinity,
Speaker 1: but the gunmen were clearly aiming towards that gathering of
Speaker 1: a Jewish community celebration.
Speaker 2: And things changed very quickly. Give me the latest on
Speaker 2: the death toll and do we know how many people
Speaker 2: are injured.
Speaker 1: At the time of recording, sixteen people are dead, Fifteen
Speaker 1: of those killed were victims, and one gunman is dead.
Speaker 1: So we heard Premier Chris Mins confirming the victims' age
Speaker 1: Rangers on Monday morning as from as young as ten
Speaker 1: to as old as eighty seven. He called that a
Speaker 1: devastating fact. Now, in terms of the wounded, we know
Speaker 1: dozens of people were treated for injuries at the scene,
Speaker 1: many hospitalized, many remain in a critical condition. At the
Speaker 1: time of recording, thirty eight people remain in hospital and
Speaker 1: three are believed to be children. We also have heard
Speaker 1: from New South Wales police that two of their officers
Speaker 1: suffered gunshot wounds as they exchanged fire with the two
Speaker 1: gunmen at the scene, and at the time of recording,
Speaker 1: those officers are in a critical but stable condition.
Speaker 2: We put up a post yesterday about the Jewish festival
Speaker 2: of Hanuka, which was being celebrated there at the beach,
Speaker 2: to give you a sense of the significance of the festival.
Speaker 2: I heard somebody yesterday refer to the sort of celebration
Speaker 2: that was taking place at bondais the Jewish equivalent to
Speaker 2: carols by candlelight. It's kind of got that joyous mode
Speaker 2: about it. There are quite a few Jewish festivals which
Speaker 2: are somber and sad. This is not one of them.
Speaker 2: This is about, as you said before, fun light, resilience, hope,
Speaker 2: all of those kind of qualities, and Jewish communities all
Speaker 2: around the world traditionally gather on that first night of
Speaker 2: the eight night festival to celebrate together. That was where
Speaker 2: the offenders were targeting, and that is why it's now
Speaker 2: been declared by federal authorities as a terror attack. Give
Speaker 2: me a sense of what it means when authorities say
Speaker 2: that something is a terrorist incident, and what that changes yeah.
Speaker 1: A terror attack essentially means that the motivations of the attackers,
Speaker 1: the offenders are in some way politically motivated, religiously motivated.
Speaker 1: It is a targeted attack.
Speaker 2: That is designed to inflict terror as well and designed
Speaker 2: to scare not just those at the beach, but all
Speaker 2: of Australia exactly.
Speaker 1: And also when we have an incident declared a terror incident,
Speaker 1: it elevates the response from law enforcement authorities and that's
Speaker 1: exactly what we have seen here in New South Wales.
Speaker 1: So during a press conference late on Sunday night, the
Speaker 1: New South Wales Police Commissioner mal Lanyon said that as
Speaker 1: a result of the circumstances of the attack as we've
Speaker 1: described Sam that he declared this to be a terrorist incident. However,
Speaker 1: police are yet to speculate on motive or ideology. So
Speaker 1: we know that it was a targeted anti Semitic attack,
Speaker 1: but we don't yet have more detail on motive. Lanyon said, quote,
Speaker 1: we will have a significant investstigation. No stone will be
Speaker 1: left unturned. This type of disgraceful activity, this wanton use
Speaker 1: of violence, the taking of innocent lives, is unacceptable. So
Speaker 1: that terror declaration, as I mentioned, triggers a significant police response.
Speaker 1: In this case, that's a joint counter terrorism operation between
Speaker 1: the New South Wales Police Force, the Australian Federal Police,
Speaker 1: the AFP and AZO, that is the National Security Agency.
Speaker 1: It should also be noted and contributing to the nature
Speaker 1: of this incident as a terror incident, two active improvised
Speaker 1: explosive devices otherwise known as homemade bombs I suppose or
Speaker 1: homemade explosives were found at the scene. They were removed
Speaker 1: by New South Wales Police's Rescue and Bomb Disposal unit
Speaker 1: and we're still waiting for more on the analysis of
Speaker 1: those suspicious devices.
Speaker 2: One of the key parts of the powers given to
Speaker 2: police in a terrorism declaration is also the way that
Speaker 2: they can search people and properties as well much faster.
Speaker 2: They don't have to go through some of the regular
Speaker 2: court systems, fee less of that red tape exactly. They
Speaker 2: can move at speed, and they did that on Sunday night.
Speaker 2: There was also this sense that there could have been
Speaker 2: more threats to come on other religious institutions or events
Speaker 2: around Sydney, but also the potential of a third perpetrator.
Speaker 2: Do police believe still that there is an active threat
Speaker 2: that remains and how much have they told us about
Speaker 2: these perpetrators.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so authorities have said that the threat in Bondi
Speaker 1: had been neutralized. That doesn't mean that investigators aren't on
Speaker 1: alert for other potential threats or even retaliatory violence, but
Speaker 1: it does mean that there's no evidence yet that we
Speaker 1: have been made aware of to indicate that there is
Speaker 1: that other threat. You're right, Sam, there was a bit
Speaker 1: of confusion around how many perpetrators, how many gunmen talk
Speaker 1: online of perhaps a third shooter, but in an update
Speaker 1: on Monday, police confirmed they were satisfied that there were
Speaker 1: two offenders involved in the shooting. One, a fifty year
Speaker 1: old man, is deceased. The second is a twenty four
Speaker 1: year old man. Now he is in a critical but
Speaker 1: stable condition in hospital under police guard. Police have also
Speaker 1: confirmed that both gunmen were a father and son, so
Speaker 1: we're talking about a father and son duo, and as
Speaker 1: part of their investigations, counter Terror Police conducted two search
Speaker 1: warrants on Sunday night. So the father and son were
Speaker 1: staying at a Campsy address. That's a suburb in Sydney's southwest,
Speaker 1: but they lived in Bonnie Rig in the city's west,
Speaker 1: so both properties were raided and.
Speaker 2: So what did police find at those two properties.
Speaker 1: We know that the fifty year old gunman, so that
Speaker 1: is the gunman who died at the scene. He was
Speaker 1: a licensed gun owner of six firearms. Commissioner Olnyon said
Speaker 1: that he was satisfied that those six firearms were recovered
Speaker 1: from the scene in Bondai on Sunday night. Year old
Speaker 1: owned six guns, had licenses for them and used those
Speaker 1: weapons to carry out this terror attack. Here's a little
Speaker 1: bit more from the Police Commissioner.
Speaker 3: We will continue to investigate this matter thoroughly. It's important
Speaker 3: for the community to have the reassurance that New South
Speaker 3: Wales Police, working with our Commonwealth partners, will not stop
Speaker 3: until we understand the reasons behind this senseless incident and
Speaker 3: take any available action that we need to do.
Speaker 1: Now sam As this is an active investigation. Law enforcement
Speaker 1: have been understandably guarded about certain details, but it is
Speaker 1: understood and a point that has been of great public
Speaker 1: interest that one of the men was also known to
Speaker 1: Asio and New South Wales Police. Azeo said that he
Speaker 1: was quote not in an immediate threat perspective, but obviously
Speaker 1: he said, we need to look into what happened here.
Speaker 1: That was the ASIO boss, Mike Burgers. So the AFP,
Speaker 1: ASIO and New South Wales Police have promised to put
Speaker 1: all available resources and specialist powers towards ensuring a thorough investigation.
Speaker 1: But you can imagine there are a lot of questions
Speaker 1: left unanswered about what known to ASIO means in this context.
Speaker 2: And a lot of that questioning and a lot of
Speaker 2: that interrogation by media and by members of the public
Speaker 2: was directed towards the federal government, who primarily have a
Speaker 2: responsibility to protect all citizens of Australia. Talk me through
Speaker 2: the federal government's response, both on the Sunday night but
Speaker 2: also in the day that has followed.
Speaker 1: Yes, so we heard from the Prime Minister Anthony Alberanzi
Speaker 1: on Sunday night in the immediate aftermath of the shooting,
Speaker 1: as the details were really still coming to light, and
Speaker 1: he condemned the attack in Bondi as an anti Semitic
Speaker 1: act of pure evil. Albanizi said, in this moment of darkness,
Speaker 1: we must be each other's light, hold on to the
Speaker 1: true character of the country that we love. Australia is
Speaker 1: stronger than the cowards who attacked innocent people. Today, he
Speaker 1: offered his condolences to the Jewish community of Bondai and
Speaker 1: the Jewish community right across the country. Here's a bit
Speaker 1: more of what he had to say at a press
Speaker 1: conference on Monday.
Speaker 4: This was an attack deliberately targeted at the Jewish community
Speaker 4: on the first day of Harnekah, which of course should
Speaker 4: be a joyoush celebration, and the Jewish community are hurting today.
Speaker 4: Today all Australians wrap our arms around them and say
Speaker 4: we stand with you. We will do whatever is necessary
Speaker 4: to stamp out any Semitism. It is a scourge and
Speaker 4: we will eradicate it together.
Speaker 1: Now we've also heard from the Federal Opposition leader Susan Lee.
Speaker 1: She said, quote this attack occurred as our Jewish community
Speaker 1: came together at Hanneker by the Sea. This was a
Speaker 1: celebration of peace and hope for the future severed by hate.
Speaker 2: And I'd love to pivot to the response that we
Speaker 2: saw on the ground in Bondai. I walked out onto
Speaker 2: a balcony in this locked down building and I don't
Speaker 2: think I've ever seen more emergency vehicles. It felt like
Speaker 2: I was looking at a car park of emergency vehicles.
Speaker 2: We saw this massive effort. It wasn't just emergency respondents,
Speaker 2: it was also civilians. What can you tell us about
Speaker 2: this on the ground response.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I suppose whenever we have these horrific events unfolding,
Speaker 1: we also have the silver lining in the form of
Speaker 1: our first responders and we see their work in real
Speaker 1: time unfolding and saving lives. Albanezi and the New South
Speaker 1: Wales Premier Chris Mins have really been at pains to
Speaker 1: acknowledge the bravery of emergency services as well as civilians
Speaker 1: on the ground in Bondai. Dominic Morgan is the Ambulance
Speaker 1: Commissioner for New South Wales and they confirmed that first
Speaker 1: crews were on the scene within less than ten minutes
Speaker 1: of the first reports of the shooting, and more than
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty three personnel from New South Wales
Speaker 1: Ambulance were in Bondai on Sunday night helping and working
Speaker 1: with police. Commissioner Morgan made the point that first responders
Speaker 1: learned some really important lessons from the Bondai Westfield stabbing attack.
Speaker 1: Of course, so much pain and trauma in this one
Speaker 1: pocket of Sydney, so the Commissioner Morgan said that command
Speaker 1: structures were seamless on Sunday night that the ability for
Speaker 1: paramedics with the support of police to work in these
Speaker 1: hot zones, he is absolutely convinced contributed to the saving
Speaker 1: of lives that otherwise would have been lost. The Commissioner
Speaker 1: said first responders that these scenes are quote an inspiration
Speaker 1: to us all the way they put themselves in harm's way,
Speaker 1: their courage and resilience, We all thank you.
Speaker 2: He said.
Speaker 1: Also, of course, am you've mentioned ordinary civilians. We saw
Speaker 1: this incredible community response with a record turnout for blood
Speaker 1: donation this week. Lifeblood put out a call out across
Speaker 1: Sydney on Monday morning. By mid afternoon there were lines
Speaker 1: queued up outside donation centers, hundreds of people wanting to
Speaker 1: roll up their sleeves and do their bit.
Speaker 2: I also wanted to shout out the lifeguards and yes
Speaker 2: voluntary self life savers at Bondai, who were on the
Speaker 2: scene almost straight away. Remarkable vision of patients being carried
Speaker 2: away on life saving boards which are being used as stretchers.
Speaker 2: These are regular people volunteering for shifts or working at
Speaker 2: the beach. And then in a whole other part of
Speaker 2: the events that were unfolding, there's one civilian in particular
Speaker 2: who's gone viral for their contribution, right exactly.
Speaker 1: You probably by now have seen that viral footage of
Speaker 1: a man believed to be Ahmed al Ahmed. He is
Speaker 1: a fruit shop owner from Sutherland in Sydney's Shire who
Speaker 1: confronted one of the gunmen, wrestled the firearm from him
Speaker 1: and pointed it towards the gunman. He is rightly being
Speaker 1: celebrated as a hero around the world. It's believed he
Speaker 1: was shot in the arm at the scene, but is
Speaker 1: recovering in hospital, not even sure if he realizes the
Speaker 1: impact that he's had on his community and the world.
Speaker 1: Even US President Donald Trump shouted him out, saying, quote,
Speaker 1: there's a very very brave person who went and attacked
Speaker 1: frontally one of the shows and saved a lot of lives.
Speaker 1: Great respect to that man that did that.
Speaker 2: Something tells me he's going to have a very good
Speaker 2: week of sales the at his fruit shop, as he should,
Speaker 2: and maybe many more weeks to come. But you mentioned
Speaker 2: that we have heard from the US president. How have
Speaker 2: other world leaders responded to this. It feels like Bondai
Speaker 2: is the center of the world right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it can be hard. I guess for us
Speaker 1: in the thick of it to really zoom out and
Speaker 1: realize how this has had an impact globally. But it
Speaker 1: has reached every corner of the world and we've seen
Speaker 1: an outpouring of condolences from international leaders. King Charles gave
Speaker 1: his condolences and said, my wife, Queen Camilla, and I
Speaker 1: are appalled and saddened by the most dreadful anti Semitic
Speaker 1: terrorist attack. I know that the spirit of community and
Speaker 1: love that shines so brightly in Australia and the light
Speaker 1: at the heart of the Hunuker Festival, will always triumph
Speaker 1: over the darkness of such evil. British PM Ki Starma
Speaker 1: also said his thoughts and prayers are with those murdered
Speaker 1: in the terrorist attack on Bondai Beach and their families.
Speaker 1: French President Emmanuel Macron said France shares the pain of
Speaker 1: the Australian people and will continue to fight relentlessly against
Speaker 1: the anti Semitic hatred that wounds us all and New
Speaker 1: Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxen said Australia and New Zealand
Speaker 1: are closer than friends, we are family. I am shocked
Speaker 1: by the distressing scenes at Bondai, and that is just
Speaker 1: the tip of the iceberg. Sam every corner of the
Speaker 1: globe there has been that sentiment coming out world leaders
Speaker 1: in support of Australia and in support of the Jewish community.
Speaker 2: It's impossible to separate the events in Bondai from the
Speaker 2: war that's been happening in the Middle East that started
Speaker 2: on October seven, twenty twenty three. It's led to commentary
Speaker 2: from Israeli politicians as to the conditions in Australia. The
Speaker 2: Australian government's response tell me about that reaction from Israel's
Speaker 2: parliament well.
Speaker 1: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya, who has used very strong language
Speaker 1: to condemn not only this attack, but to criticize the
Speaker 1: federal government's decision to recognize Palestinian statehood. He's called Anthony
Speaker 1: Albanese's leadership week and has been very very clear on
Speaker 1: his condemnation of Albanese's leadership. Netnya, who said he had
Speaker 1: warned the government a few months ago that it was
Speaker 1: promoting and encouraging antisemitism in Australia by calling for a
Speaker 1: Palestinian state. Those were Netanyahu's words earlier in the year.
Speaker 1: He said he called upon the PM to quote, replace
Speaker 1: weakness with action. He said that instead, Prime Minister, you
Speaker 1: replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement. Your
Speaker 1: government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism. You
Speaker 1: let the disease spread and the result is the horrific
Speaker 1: attacks on Jews.
Speaker 2: We saw at Bondai, very strong words there from Nennahu
Speaker 2: and there is clearly a lot of hurt and anger
Speaker 2: in the community. In my view, it's turned political quite fast.
Speaker 2: How has Albanzi responded to those comments from the Israeli
Speaker 2: Prime Minister.
Speaker 1: Well, at the time of recording, he hasn't directly responded
Speaker 1: to those criticisms from the Israeli Prime Minister. We have heard, though,
Speaker 1: in terms of an Australian perspective on this issue, we
Speaker 1: have heard from the Special Envoy against Anti Semitism, Jillian Siegel,
Speaker 1: who did say the messaging and education about how Jewish
Speaker 1: hatred harmed the community had been inadequate. So Siegel told
Speaker 1: ABC Radio quote, Unfortunately, I have to say that I've
Speaker 1: been holding my breath fearing that something like this would happen,
Speaker 1: because it hasn't come without warning. The PM, rather than
Speaker 1: kind of directly addressing these criticisms. Has said though that
Speaker 1: now is not the time to kind of go there.
Speaker 1: He said, now is the time for national unity. He
Speaker 1: has vowed to stamp out antisemitism and he has continued
Speaker 1: to condemn these attacks as pure evil.
Speaker 2: And the Prime Minister visited the site of the shooting
Speaker 2: very early on Monday morning and was, I believe the
Speaker 2: first two lay flowers at what is now a large
Speaker 2: memorial there at the beach, give me a sense of
Speaker 2: what happens from here. I mean, there's going to be
Speaker 2: you would imagine months of inquiries and investigations into this,
Speaker 2: but what can we kind of expect from the next
Speaker 2: days and weeks.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, you're right, there will no doubt be calls and
Speaker 1: questions about these inquiries and next steps. Federal and state
Speaker 1: leaders are continuing to hold talks. So on Monday yesterday,
Speaker 1: Anthony Albanezi held an emergency meeting with state and territory
Speaker 1: leaders late in the afternoon that came amid calls for
Speaker 1: a report on anti Semitism to be implemented. The National
Speaker 1: Security Committee, that is a group made up of the
Speaker 1: Prime Minister, senior ministers, federal police, and Azio also met
Speaker 1: on Monday afternoon to discuss next steps their second meeting
Speaker 1: in twenty four hours, which is quite unprecedented for that group. Now,
Speaker 1: what we can expect is that this is not going away.
Speaker 1: This is an incident that will be forever embedded into
Speaker 1: the pages of Australia's modern history for very sadly all
Speaker 1: the wrong reasons. Sunday's attack is Australia's worst modern day
Speaker 1: mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in nineteen ninety six,
Speaker 1: a day that changed Australia and our gun laws forever.
Speaker 1: Thirty five people were killed in that massacre by gunman
Speaker 1: Martin Bryant. But this incident is the deadliest anti Semitic
Speaker 1: act in the nation's history. This is a moment that
Speaker 1: will change us forever. But there is so much that
Speaker 1: we just don't know yet. We're learning more and more
Speaker 1: by the hour, and as we continue to hear about
Speaker 1: those developments, we will continue to share them with our
Speaker 1: audience here on the podcast, on our Instagram feed across
Speaker 1: all TDA channels. So I suppose you know watch this
Speaker 1: space and plenty to come.
Speaker 2: Thank you for taking us through that and a really
Speaker 2: difficult topic. And I think that you've embodied the way
Speaker 2: that we're trying to do things here at TDA, which
Speaker 2: is get down to the facts, explain things for us
Speaker 2: all and promote as much good information as we can find.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Sam, and that's all we've got time for today.
Speaker 2: For you as well, please look after yourself and each
Speaker 2: other and remember that support is always available. New South
Speaker 2: Wales Health has a dedicated mental health line available twenty
Speaker 2: four to seven on one eight hundred zero one one
Speaker 2: five one one. Lifeline is also available twenty four seven
Speaker 2: on one three one one one four and our thoughts
Speaker 2: are with everyone recovering in hospital at the moment. My
Speaker 2: name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung
Speaker 2: Kalkotin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that
Speaker 2: this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl
Speaker 2: people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Speaker 2: Island and nations. We pay our respects to the first
Speaker 2: peoples of these countries, both past and present.