WESTFIELD BONDI JUNCTION INCIDENT

I offer my profound condolences to the victims of the Bondi Junction attack, their families and friends, and everyone in New South Wales and Australia who has been affected by this horrific event. It has been an undeniably challenging few weeks for the New South Wales community. The country watched in horror as news of the Bondi Junction attack started to spread. In the images shown we saw ourselves: mums and dads out with their kids, young adults and their friends on their way to the movies, people off to work in a bustling shopping centre, and people going about their weekend, like any other weekend.

As images of the event spread around the world, the phone calls and text messages to check in on loved ones started. Tragically, we know that many of those calls and texts went unanswered. Six people lost their lives and many more were injured. So many lives have been irrevocably changed forever, with the ripples felt across the community. The blue skies and sandy beaches of Bondi are the quintessential image of Australia to those who live here and those who visit from abroad. To have the idyllic image of Bondi shattered in such a violent way felt like we all lost something.

Alongside the crippling sorrow that I know has been felt across the community, there is also a great sense of pride and gratitude being communicated to the NSW Police Force and all the first responders. Senior police have reported to me that in recent weeks police on our streets have been deluged with good wishes and thanks from members of the public to a degree that they have never experienced before. People are grateful for the work police do to keep them safe and the personal risks they take, day in and day out. People are letting the police know. I find that extremely gratifying.

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the astonishing bravery of Inspector Amy Scott. The NSW Police Force always works as a team and all of our police deserve credit for the emergency response they provide, day in and day out, every day of the week. In this case, Inspector Scott displayed tremendous courage and breathtaking decisiveness, ending the ghastly attack within minutes of hearing the calls for help. Heroism is a word that can be overused, but Amy Scott's actions that day were the very definition of heroic in the truest sense. Our highly trained police responded to this harrowing incident with professionalism, diligence and compassion. On behalf of the New South Wales Government, I thank every police officer who responded that day, as well as their colleagues from all the other world-class emergency services.

I thank also the police family liaison officers, who continue to provide information, care and compassion to affected families in the wake of this tragedy. They are still in contact with them as we stand here today. The work they do is invaluable. In the weeks since the tragedy, I have met with police who were involved in the operational response. They have all been so humble, telling me they were just doing their jobs. Waverley Police Station has been inundated with flowers, home-cooked meals and baked goods. This outpouring of support from the community has lifted the spirits of our police at a time it was most needed.

Recently I visited the PoliceLink centre at Tuggerah on the Central Coast with the member for The Entrance, David Mehan. We visited the incredible 000 call takers and dispatchers. The officers at PoliceLink are answering calls around the clock, triaging 000 police calls and dispatching the appropriate responses. They are the first "first responders". Between 3.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. during the Bondi Junction Westfield attack, PoliceLink staff triaged more than 300 calls. Many of the calls were from people witnessing the distressing incident as it unfolded.

They were extremely difficult calls from eyewitnesses and people who were concerned for loved ones who they knew were in the area. Information from these calls provided real-time information to the police and assisted them in their response to the incident. Day in and day out, our PoliceLink staff are speaking to people at their most vulnerable, when they need the help of the NSW Police Force. On behalf of the New South Wales Government, I thank everybody working at PoliceLink and all of the NSW Police Force. My heart breaks for the families and friends experiencing an unimaginable loss. My thoughts will be with them always.