: The events of yesterday have shocked the nation. Australians are waking up to try to deal with the shock and trauma that will come with what has occurred, with violent actions that are unspeakable and really just beyond comprehension. People going about their Saturday afternoon shopping should be safe, shouldn’t be at risk. But tragically, we saw a loss of life, and people will be grieving for loved ones today. We also know there are many people still in hospital dealing with recovery and our thoughts and prayers are with them. We also, though, at this time, give thanks to our police and emergency services. The wonderful inspector who ran into danger by herself and removed the threat that was there to others without thinking about the risk to herself. We also see the footage of ordinary Australians putting themselves in harm’s way in order to help their fellow citizens. That bravery was quite extraordinary that we saw yesterday, the best of Australians amidst this extraordinary tragedy. The details, of course, the investigators are still going through that detail. We have been – I’ve been informed by the authorities that there is a mental health dimension to what has occurred, but the investigations are ongoing and it’s not helpful to speculate beyond which the police have found. Can I also say that I’ve received messages overnight from the leaders, including from President Biden, Prime Minister Sunak, Prime Minister Luxon and others in our region as well, expressing their condolences to Australians, and I thank them for their thoughts and prayers that we’ve received at this most difficult of times.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said yesterday there was support available to anyone who might need it – what might that look like?
PRIME MINISTER: We’re working through, I spoke with the acting NSW Premier yesterday as well. The Premier of NSW will be arriving back. We want to make sure that people who need support, including support for mental health, in dealing with this trauma. These events were witnessed by thousands of people who were there shopping. This is a shopping centre that is very familiar to Sydneysiders. It is very large indeed. And for people who were forced to be locked in shops, people who ran from danger, people who confronted that danger, many of them should ensure that if they need that assistance to talk these issues through, to deal with this dreadful experience, then they should reach out and that support will be there. Thanks very much.
