By Paulina Vidal, ABC
NSW Premier Chris Minns has not ruled out sending troops to protect Sydney's Jewish community after the Bondi terrorist attack. Photo: ABC News
- The NSW premier has not ruled out deploying troops to keep Sydney's Jewish community safe after the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
- He warned Sydneysiders that more police will be patrolling the streets, with some carrying long-arm weapons in the weeks ahead.
- The premier also put hate preachers on notice, saying their prayer halls would be shut down.
Deploying the army to Jewish areas to protect the community has not been ruled out by the NSW premier as he contemplates security changes following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
At a press conference on Sunday, Chris Minns also warned that Sydneysiders could expect to see more police officers carrying long-armed guns before and beyond New Year's Eve.
Minns said that "nothing was off the table" in response to a question about the deployment of troops, confirming that discussions about it were ongoing.
"We're going to look very closely at security programs and measures in the future. We have to do things completely differently," he said.
"The situation as it currently stands, it can't continue ... there's a big challenge ahead of us to rebuild Jewish life in Sydney. So I'm not going to take anything off the table.
"We're in discussions about it [army deployment]. I'm not prepared to front run it because obviously that's a change for us."
The premier says NSW's security measures and protocols have to change. Photo: ABC / Jack Fisher
On Saturday, it was revealed that a 26 November document produced by the Jewish Community Security Group NSW (CSG NSW) warned NSW Police of a heightened risk of violent antisemitism during the Chanukah by the Sea event.
When quizzed about it, the premier flagged that arming CSG NSW would also be considered.
"Clearly from media reports and my own enquiries, that CSG was in contact with NSW Police, and while there were police on site, clearly not enough to deal with the threat as history's tragically shown," he said.
"Now that means a root and branch change to security protocols and provisions in place.
"It also means we need to have a longer, deeper look at arming CSG. Now that is a step that we haven't taken in the past."
Firearms 'confronting for some people'
The changed protocols for police, described by Minns as "absolutely necessary" to restore community confidence, will see some officers holding long-fire arms.
"I want to send a clear message that NSW Police will be out in massive numbers," he said.
"In some cases, carrying firearms and weapons that you haven't seen before.
"We haven't normally seen on the streets of Sydney, long-armed firearms, but NSW Police will have them and that will be confronting for some people."
While no details were provided on how many of these types of weapons would be out on the streets and where, they were in use at last Sunday's Day of Reflection.
Snipers on roofs and heavily-armed officers could be seen with the weapons at the event, which was held to honour the 15 people killed and the dozens more injured in the mass shooting on 14 December.
Snipers were stationed around the Day of Reflection event last Sunday. Photo: ABC News / Che Chorley
When asked if the weapons would make people feel uneasy, the premier reiterated his commitment to safety.
"We want to make sure that they're [NSW Police] in a position to send a message that security is the number one obligation of any government, and that's what you're going to see in the weeks ahead."
Hate preachers put on notice
Following moves earlier this week to shut down an illegal prayer hall linked to notorious Islamic preacher Wisam Haddad, the premier flagged that others could meet the same fate.
The premier says the government is focused on stopping hate preachers spreading racism. Photo: ABC News
He stressed the focus on "hate preachers" spreading racism would be unrelenting and the action to close it down would be immediate.
"No organisation that preaches hate should have access to any government money under any circumstances," he said.
"We're going to make sure that we're in a position so that if people are running a prayer hall in breach of the conditions that they've been granted, they can be shut down easily and comprehensively.
"Not just with the nominal fine from the local council, but with the switching off of utilities as soon as possible to shut them down.
"We will need legislation for tougher penalties and more onerous remedies, but we're planning on doing that very soon."
- ABC
