Topics: Bondi Beach Terror Attack

‍

PETE STEFANOVIC: Liberal senator, Dave Sharma. Dave knows the area quite well obviously. a former federal member for Wentworth. A, a, champion for the Jewish community as well. Um, Dave, when I was here last night, I just want to I'll start on this point. So when I was here last night, and I walked down to Bondi Beach, and I'd heard,  the reports of gunshots and people who might be injured, and I, and I walked across and I saw bodies on the ground. And I'm thinking to myself, what? wait, what? In Bondi Beach?" Multiple bodies. It's just so difficult to, to understand this. What, what are your thoughts on, on this, this hour?

‍

DAVE SHARMA: Look, it's the images last night were confronting because the terrorist attack was confronting. I mean, this is the worst ever terrorist attack on Australian soil. I mean, the, the number of people that have been killed, the number of those that are still fighting for their lives, the, the violence and barbarism that was unleashed in, a place that, is yeah, a country that's seen as a sanctuary and a place that is seen as a peaceful place where people go to exercise, to worship, to socialize, to have fun. You and I and many other people in the community know Bondi Beach and the landmarks there and that footbridge net there which will now be forever infamous. We know it all, intimately. And to see those scenes unfold last night is just, um, deeply shocking, but I think it, it strikes at, at the soul of our nation, in a very profound way.

‍

PETE STEFANOVIC: Mm. Dave, is there a sense, and I know, people probably don't like saying this, but is there a sense of I told you so? Talking to Alex Ryvchin a little earlier and other, and other members of the Jewish community, I mean, their, their voices were heard, at least I heard them since October 7. I heard that community feeling unsafe. And there, there were fears that something like this could happen. And sure enough, it's happened. So with that said, is, is there a sense of an I told you so aspect to this?

‍

DAVE SHARMA: Well, I think quite understandably, Pete, a lot of people are very angry and upset, right now. And it is certainly true, and this is well-documented and well-chronicled that, not only Jewish community leadership groups, but the Prime Minister's own special envoy combat antisemitism, our security agencies, the premier had been warning about the rise of antisemitism in Australia for some time. And it started a little over two years ago, shortly after, a day or two after the 7th of October terrorist attacks. And we have seen, I think, an escalation from, marches that chanted malicious and intimidatory slogans to property damage, to doxing, to fire bombing of synagogues. And I think, it's not untrue to say that people did warn that something like this could happen in Australia. The fact that it's come to pass though doesn't make it, any less, or it's no less shocking for that, um, for that portent. But the Jewish community has been living in a state of high anxiety and fear for months and months now.

‍

PETE STEFANOVIC: Yeah. What, what, what does the Prime Minister have to do now, Dave? I mean, we, we saw him lay the flowers at, at Bondi Pavilion. he wasn't here for very long. It, was, it was, it was quite a short trip. I mean, understandably he's got intelligence briefings and everything of that nature. What, what, what does he do from, from now on in? Because I mean, there is a general feeling that he's failed here. As again, Alex Ryvchin, as he pointed out a little earlier, he, he doesn't believe that Anthony Albanese is antisemitic. He, he believes he's well-intentioned. But his view is that the government has failed the Jewish community. Do you agree?

‍

DAVE SHARMA: Well, look, fundamentally the job of every government and any government of any political persuasion, its fundamental duty is to protect its citizens. And so, clearly the fact that this has happened, um, means that that duty has not been met. Now, I'm not going to say that someone in, in particular is responsible or some, there has been a particular breakdown, but clearly, and I think Chris Minns said this earlier today, there will need to be and there must be a very forensic and detailed examination of how we have reached this point in Australia and what we must do to ensure that it can never happen again. And I don't think any political persuasion can dodge that responsibility.

‍

PETE STEFANOVIC: Yeah. So, so this talk of,  everyone knows what John Howard did post-Port Arthur, right, Dave? So, know, in the search for answers now, in the determination that something like this doesn't happen again, there's talk of, "Well, okay, how do you fix gun crimes? how do you tweak them even further?" Do you have a view on that? Because I mean, or, or, has the horse bolted to borrow an old cliché? Because we're seeing gang attacks on a near daily occurrence now, particularly in the western parts of Sydney. I mean, there are so many weapons out there on the streets used primarily by gangs. is that just going to be too hard to rein in?

‍

DAVE SHARMA: Well, no, I don't think so. And I don't know if that's necessarily the answer. It might be part of the answer, it might not be the entirety of the answer. But I think, you this has to be, this has to be the highest priority of the government, federal government and state government right now, is to examine all these things. Gun laws, gun controls, antisemitism, incitement in communities, radicalization of communities, the, whole gambit. Security of Jewish community institutions, our intelligence services, the cooperation between state and federal law enforcement and criminal intelligence organizations. All of that needs to be on the table because this has to be the highest priority of, federal and state governments in New South Wales right now. And, those answers will be found in due course and then action will need to be taken. But I think, that is the key message here that this, this is not something that is optional to deal with. This is a must do for this government.

‍

PETE STEFANOVIC: Yeah. All right. Dave Sharma, really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much.

‍

[ENDS]

‍