The Philippine National Police have concluded that the suspects involved in the incident scarcely ventured out from their hotel. Currently, there is no evidence indicating they underwent any training or engaged in logistical planning for the supposed attack, according to their findings.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke highlighted the significance of international travel advisories in the government’s independent Richardson review concerning the Bondi attack.
“In some regions, the lack of a legitimate tourism industry sets off significant alarms,” Burke noted. “Conversely, there are destinations frequented by travelers with both valid and dubious intentions.”
As Bondi gears up to commemorate the moment when the terror attack occurred, Burke added, “There are also countries where warnings might surface but don’t necessarily raise immediate concern.”
Bondi prepares to remember moment terror attack unfolded
“And then there are other countries where an alert might come up, but it wouldn’t necessarily raise the eye.”
He said national security expert Dennis Richardson was the best option to ensure the current system was “fit for purpose”.
Albanese said there had been multiple meetings with Richardson and the community in order to establish the remit of the inquiry.
“We wanted to make sure when we come to the references that Mr Richardson will consider what the agencies knew about the alleged offenders before the attack,” he said.
“The information sharing between the commonwealth and state agencies, what judgements were made and actions taken by agencies, whether there were any additional measures that commonwealth agencies could have taken, whether commonwealth agencies were prevented from taking prohibitive actions by the current legislative framework.”
Albanese also again defended the decision to hold a review instead of a royal commission, saying that he recognised the calls for the latter came from “a good place”.
“We want to make sure that there are no gaps in the federal system,” he said.
“So our position is not out of convenience, it is out of conviction that this is the right direction to go in, and the actual experts, who are the current experts, have all recommended this course of action.”
He, as well as Barrett, both promised to support and cooperate with the NSW royal commission.
In the meantime, Albanese said, AFP officers and some federal logistical support, such as surveillance measures, were being made available for NSW’s security arrangements.
But he appeared to pour water on the suggestion – one floated by NSW Premier Chris Minns – that the military could be deployed as part of a domestic policing operation.
“They perform a very different role,” Albanese said.
“What we are doing with NSW constructively is, I’ll discuss further with Premier Minns what is the best way in which the Commonwealth can supplement the work that NSW is doing.”
