Key events
The Prime Minister was also on ABC Radio earlier, where he said it was “remarkable” that people were brave enough to rush the attacked in Bondi on Saturday.
Albanese said he spoke to many people yesterday, when he attended Bondi Junction to pay respects and lay flowers at the scene, and what struck him was the bravery of some of the witnesses.
It is remarkable that people ran towards danger in order to help their fellow Australians not the least of which of course was police inspector Amy Scott.
The PM was also asked if the media had jumped to conclusions on the motive behind the attack, but he backed police process:
The police did an extraordinary job of giving out information to the public as soon as it was appropriate to do so. The fact that yesterday morning, it was released that Mr Cauchi had known mental health issues. The fact that very early on, they … [revealed that] they thought that it was not a terrorism related incident was very important, I think for the public.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb was on ABC Radio Sydney earlier, where she said that Police had finished taking physical evidence from the scene and had handed the shopping centre back to its owners.
Webb said there were many pieces of evidence taken from the centre, and that investigations are ongoing:
There have been many, many, exhibits that have been taken from that scene for forensic analysis.
Certainly police will go through that and take everything in it for forensic examination.
She said Police had not found anything “startling” in a small storage facility killer Joel Cauchi had rented. She also said Police were investigating whether Cauchi was affected by drugs at the time of the attack.
It will be investigated as part of the coroner’s investigation in terms of any toxicology. Usually, those results are some days and weeks away.
We may never get answers because we can’t ask him and it will be based on what we can determine from interviewing witnesses and family members.
Chris Minns: ‘There’s good people out there too’
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, is on ABC News Breakfast, saying it is a “devastating day” across the state and a “reflectful time” in Sydney.
Minns was asked how he intends to bring the state together and he said he would encourage people to focus on the “heroic acts of bravery” on Saturday:
I would just encourage people in the face of such extreme violence and really confronting images to look at some of the heroic acts of bravery from completely strangers that we did see … in Bondi.
Whether it was some young men who confronted him with bollards and chairs, keeping him away from people he could have killed.
The actions of inspector Amy Scott who ran towards the attacker, without any question, saved many lives. There’s no hiding the truth, it’s been a horrible event, but some wonderful people in our community. If you’re talking to young people in particular, I would put it in context, let them know there’s good people out there too.
Plibersek: ‘We’re all just reeling, in shock and grieving’
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, says Australians are “still reeling” from the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.
Plibersek told Sunrise that the government’s focus was on the victims and their families and friends:
We’re all just reeling, in shock and grieving and I think there will be plenty of time to methodically go through what happened on the weekend and see if there are things that we can learn about how to make sure that people feel safe and are safe in places where they should be safe.
I’m sure [they] will be impacted, probably for the rest of their lives, by what’s happened.
The focus on what we can learn from this, absolutely, we should do that in the future. There’ll be plenty of time for that.
Good Morning
Good morning. Mostafa Rachwani with you today and we begin with the continuing fallout from Saturday’s tragic stabbing attack at Bondi Junction in Sydney.
Flags at government buildings are due to fly at half mast today in a national sign of mourning for the victims, after Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed six people to death and seriously wounded 12 others on Saturday afternoon at Bondi Junction Westfield.
Inspector Amy Scott, who shot and killed Cauchi, was praised by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, who also insisted Australia’s strong gun laws saved many lives.
Eight people were in hospital last night after the attack, including a man and a woman in intensive care at St Vincent’s hospital. We will bring you updates on their conditions as it comes in.
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