Bondi terror attack updates: Tony Burke insists he has ‘full confidence’ in Asio decisions; Netanyahu resumes attack on ‘flaccid’ Australia | Australia news
Home affairs minister says he has ‘full confidence’ in Australia’s intelligence agency
Sarah Basford Canales
Tony Burke maintains he has “full confidence” in Australia’s domestic intelligence agency as questions are raised about how the father and son duo allegedly behind the Bondi attack, and inspired by Islamic State, were able to travel to the Philippines last month without raising flags.
The home affairs minister said he had reviewed the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation’s (Asio) decisions and actions regarding 24-year-old Naveed Akram – who was charged with 59 offences including 15 counts of murder on Wednesday – since he first came to attention in October 2019 for alleged associations with individuals involved in a reported Islamic State cell.
“I’ve gone through the different decisions that have been taken in this respect, and I have confidence of the decisions that [were] made,” Burke told ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday.
“Obviously, they are not all decisions that were made during the life of this particular government, but I’m not playing political games with any of this. And no matter who was in office at different times, I have confidence in the way decisions were taken.”
Authorities in the Philippines confirmed on Tuesday that Akram and his 50-year-old father, Sajid, who was shot dead by police on Sunday, travelled to the south-east Asian country between 1 November and 28 November. They listed Davao, in the country’s south, as their final destination in the Philippines.
Davao is the capital of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The island’s more remote regions, west of Davao, have been a centre of resistance for the country’s pro-Islamic State and Islamist militant groups.
Burke said he could not publicly reveal whether Asio continued to monitor Akram after the six-month examination six years ago, or whether the duo’s trip to the Philippines in November triggered a movement alert list.
“I can just answer it in the general, that is, the movement alert list is very vast, and when people come to our attention, they generally stay there for a very, very long time,” he said.
Key events
Record number of NSW students to receive HSC exam results
Caitlin Cassidy
A record number of students in New South Wales are waking to receive their exam results this morning, and for 53, they’ll be finding out they’ve received the top possible Atar of 99.95. Of the top scorers, 19 students are female and 34 students are male.
Results go live on the Universities Admission Centre (UAC) website at 9am, after which time students will have until midnight to change any course preferences for future studies.
Overall, 60,432 students were eligible for an Atar, the highest number ever and 3,238 more than in 2024. Some 17.3% of students received an Atar of 90 or above, and 51.3% received an Atar of at least 70.00.
The median Atar was higher for females than it was for males (71.60 compared with 69.80).
Chief strategy and engagement officer of the UAC, Kim Paino, congratulated all students on the important milestone of achieving their Atars and completing high school.
As you think about what comes next, remember there are many different pathways to university, and your Atar is just one part of the story. Whatever your goals, you don’t have to navigate them alone.
Royal commission into antisemitism ‘not what’s needed right now’, Dreyfus says
Asked about Frydenberg’s call for a royal commission into antisemitism, Dreyfus says such inquiries are “often very slow”:
That’s not what’s needed right now. What’s needed right now is more action.
The prime minister and the foreign minister and our home affairs minister have all said, we’re going to do more in this area. We’re going to make sure that whatever resources are needed are now put into making sure that Australia is again a place where Jews can feel safe, because it isn’t now.
He says additional funding for security at Jewish schools and synagogues also needed to be looked at.
Mark Dreyfus says implementation of antisemitism envoy’s report needs to be accelerated
Jewish Labor MP Mark Dreyfus is speaking to the ABC.
He is asked about former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg claiming Anthony Albanese is personally responsible for the 15 deaths in the Bondi terror attack. Dreyfus says:
I’d echo Jillian Segal words … as she said right away on Monday, blame’s not a very useful sentiment. What we need to do now is work together.
We can and should do more. We’ve got to do everything that we can.
Dreyfus says implementing the report by Segal, Australia’s antisemitism envoy, needs to be “accelerated.”
Anthony Albanese says courage and decency of Australians can overcome ‘pure evil’
Kelly Burke
Anthony Albanese is yet to respond directly to Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest criticism of his handling of the Bondi terror attacks but he called for for unity when he addressed a multifaith memorial service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney last night
In his speech he said everyone would join in grieving with those who lost loved ones in the attack which he again called an act of “pure evil” and praised the bystanders whose bravery in helping the victims for acts which showed the “best of Australia”.
Tonight, as we gather in one iconic Sydney location, we mourn the devastation inflicted at another. At this cathedral dedicated to our Catholic faith, we grieve for all those who were killed affirming their faith, Jewish Australians deliberately targeted on the first night of Hanukah, as they came together at that beautiful place to renew their hope, their resilience, their belief in the power of light, the darkness of terror and antisemitism was passed upon them.
Our prayers this evening are for the souls of the innocent people whose lives were so cruelly and violently stolen away at Bondi beach that Sunday evening. We pray with those who we knew and loved, including, I know, the family of Rabbi Eli who was farewelled today, everyone who has lost the centre of their universe, the love of their life, their pride and joy, we grieve for the light and laughter and strength and comfort that so many have lost. We grieve with everyone who would have shared in their happiness.
We pray that those being treated for their injuries recover, we reflect with gratitude on the bravery and skill of the police and first responders who saved lives, and we offer our thanks for the courage and selflessness of everyday Australians; people who, in a moment of deadly danger, did not hesitate to run to the aid of strangers, to shield, shelter or comfort people fleeing in fear.
Ordinary people demonstrating extraordinary courage, including the remarkable actions of Ahmed al-Ahmed, who put himself in the line of fire, wrestling a gun away from one of the shooters. People he has never met owe him their lives.
We pray for the souls of Boris and Sophia Burman and Reuven Morrison, murdered while bravely protecting others. Our nation owes them and all the heroes of Bondi a profound debt of gratitude, not just for their bravery, but also for their example, for reminding us that at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character.
Seventeen people injured in Bondi attack still in hospital
NSW Health says 17 patients injured in the Bondi attack remain in hospitals across Sydney.
We’re expecting updated numbers later today.
As of 7.30pm yesterday, the numbers were:
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One patient was in a critical condition
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Four patients were in critical but stable conditions
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12 patients were in stable conditions
Morning, everyone. I’m Adeshola Ore and I will be bringing you live updates on the Bondi terror attack.
I’m chasing the latest patient numbers and we’re expecting the funeral for the attack’s youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda, to be held today.
Netanyahu renews attack on Albanese government
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has renewed his attack on the Albanese government’s alleged failure to curb antisemitism in the lead-up to the Bondi terror attack.
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s massacre, Netanyahu said Anthony Albanese was to blame for the attack because his government’s decision to recognise the Palestinian state had encouraged Islamist extremism and attacks on Jewish targets in Australia.
Albanese rejected the accusations.
In a new post overnight, Netanyahu said he had spoken to Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, the father-in-law of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in the attack, and with Arsen Ostrovsky, head of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council Sydney office, who was wounded in the attack and has been discharged from hospital. He said he expressed his condolences and told them (in Hebrew, which X translated):
… that these heinous acts are a direct result of rampant antisemitism, which is fuelled by a flaccid policy of the authorities in the country and of the Australian government, which has a duty to act immediately and with all the tools at its disposal to eradicate terrorism and restore security to the Jewish communities.
I emphasised that the State of Israel stands alongside the Jewish community in Australia, and I strengthened the Chabad emissaries and all the Jews of Australia – those who stand firm, clinging to great faith and immense spirit in the face of those who seek our harm.
Sarah Basford Canales
Tony Burke asked if moving Asio and AFP to attorney general’s department hampered intelligence
Burke was also asked whether the Albanese government’s decision in 2022 to move Asio and the Australian federal police from the home affairs department to the attorney general’s department – a decision reversed this year – had hampered intelligence.
The minister said it was his decision to return the agencies to home affairs to assist with “seamless” information-sharing.
Burke added they both had enough resources to monitor both politically motivated and religiously motivated extremism: “I’ve confirmed with the Australian federal police and with Asio again in the last 24 hours that they both have more resources than they have ever had, and believe they get a fair hearing whenever they put a resources case to government.”
Asio’s director general, Mike Burgess, drew comparisons between Islamist political group Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network, warning their “anti-Israel rhetoric is fuelling and normalising wider antisemitic narratives”.
“The organisation’s condemnation of Israel and Jews attracts media attention and aids recruitment but it deliberately stops short of promoting onshore acts of politically motivated violence,” Burgess said.
The UK banned Hizb ut-Tahrir from recruiting or holding protests and meetings in 2024, joining countries such as Germany and Indonesia.
Burke said he would list the group once it met the threshold, which he said it had yet to.
“My view for a very long time has been, and as soon as I came into home affairs, I asked again. I’ve continued to ask, ‘do they meet the legal threshold?’ Because the moment they meet a legal threshold, I see them causing nothing but harm in the community,” he said.
Home affairs minister says he has ‘full confidence’ in Australia’s intelligence agency
Sarah Basford Canales
Tony Burke maintains he has “full confidence” in Australia’s domestic intelligence agency as questions are raised about how the father and son duo allegedly behind the Bondi attack, and inspired by Islamic State, were able to travel to the Philippines last month without raising flags.
The home affairs minister said he had reviewed the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation’s (Asio) decisions and actions regarding 24-year-old Naveed Akram – who was charged with 59 offences including 15 counts of murder on Wednesday – since he first came to attention in October 2019 for alleged associations with individuals involved in a reported Islamic State cell.
“I’ve gone through the different decisions that have been taken in this respect, and I have confidence of the decisions that [were] made,” Burke told ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday.
“Obviously, they are not all decisions that were made during the life of this particular government, but I’m not playing political games with any of this. And no matter who was in office at different times, I have confidence in the way decisions were taken.”
Authorities in the Philippines confirmed on Tuesday that Akram and his 50-year-old father, Sajid, who was shot dead by police on Sunday, travelled to the south-east Asian country between 1 November and 28 November. They listed Davao, in the country’s south, as their final destination in the Philippines.
Davao is the capital of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The island’s more remote regions, west of Davao, have been a centre of resistance for the country’s pro-Islamic State and Islamist militant groups.
Burke said he could not publicly reveal whether Asio continued to monitor Akram after the six-month examination six years ago, or whether the duo’s trip to the Philippines in November triggered a movement alert list.
“I can just answer it in the general, that is, the movement alert list is very vast, and when people come to our attention, they generally stay there for a very, very long time,” he said.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before our morning blogger takes the reins.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, insists he has “full confidence” in Asio and its decisions despite the intelligence agency apparently missing the rising threat posed by the alleged Bondi gunmen. More on that soon.
Last night the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, called for unity at a multifaith event in Sydney, after a day in which he faced intense criticism over his response to antisemitism in Australia.
And Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has added fuel to that criticism with another attack on the Australian government overnight. We bring you more on this, too, in a few minutes.
