Parramatta attack: Politicians changing their tune on terror

PREMIER Mike Baird now says there was “no doubt” Sydney had a problem with Islamic extremism, in the wake of the Parramatta attack.

DAYS after the Turnbull government carefully avoided any mention of religious fanaticism in relation to Friday’s terror attacks, Premier Mike Baird has now said there was “no doubt” Sydney had a problem with Islamic extremism.

After an apparent initial reluctance by police and the federal and state governments to talk tough on the religious motivation involved in Friday’s shooting, Mr Baird, when asked whether the attack was religiously motivated, said yesterday: “I’ve absolutely said this is a terrorist incident, that’s what it is.”

Asked if there was a problem with Islamic extremism in Sydney, the Premier said: “There’s no doubt that we do (have that problem). You can see that but, importantly, this is a minority, it is something that will be dealt with jointly with the Muslim community, more broadly with the whole community.

“My hope, of course, is that there are no more attacks. I can’t give you a guarantee that there won’t be but I can give you this guarantee: Our police and security agencies are doing everything they possibly can to prevent them. If additional (police) powers are required, of course I’m open to them.”

SHIFT IN TONE

Mr Baird’s language marked a change from comments on Saturday when he told reporters: “This is not a time to point fingers. What we have to do is come together.”

It was also a shift in tone from that of the Turnbull government and NSW police in previous days, where the attack was referred to as “politically motivated” rather than religious.

Days before the actual attack, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had sought to differentiate himself from his predecessor Tony Abbott with a new, more inclusive tone with the Muslim community, an ­approach reportedly backed by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Justice Minister Michael Keenan.

Premier Mike Baird yesterday / Picture Craig Greenhill

In July, Mr Turnbull had also given an indication of a softer stance on violent extremism in Australia by indicating his preference to respond to the threat of terror with “effective measures” instead of simply being “tough”.

Even after the ­attack, Mr Turnbull referred to the brutal killing of Mr Cheng as an “act of politically motivated ­violence”, while Ms Bishop called it a “politically motivated killing”.

And while the Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, had ­earlier told The Australian of a “growing mistrust” in Muslim communities, the Liberal Senator refused to refer to Jabar’s yelling of “Allah” after the attack in an interview with News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt.

NO Q & A HERE

While Mr Baird was facing the media on the terror raids yesterday, Mr Turnbull was avoiding questions.

The Prime Minister would not take any questions about the Parramatta shooting tragedy during a press conference about a new app for stockmarket ­investors in downtown Sydney.

Mr Turnbull was in the offices of Bloomberg in Bligh St at the launch of the product, but would answer questions only about the new technology. As soon as the launch was over, Mr Turnbull was hurried into a waiting elevator by his minders.

When asked by The Daily Telegraph if Mr Turnbull would field questions about the Parramatta incident, his press secretary said the Prime Minister was not prepared to say anything at this stage because it was an ongoing police matter.

Mr Turnbull has spoken about terrorism at one media conference since Friday, with his statement on Saturday, where he also refused to take questions.

After yesterday’s press conference, Mr Baird said on Facebook dealing with the tragedy would “take effort from all of us.

OUR HIGH SCHOOLS ARE SAFE, SAYS BAIRD

School students return to Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta / Picture: Jonathan Ng

PREMIER Mike Baird claims the state’s schools are safe despite ­reports some radicalisation was occurring within their walls and concern over students at Arthur Phillip High School at Parramatta.

“We have close to a million ­students every day who go to our schools,” Mr Baird said yesterday.

“And they are safe.

“In that context, there have been isolated incidents.”

A teenage student at Arthur Phillip High, where a 17-year-old student was arrested on Tuesday, said “a couple of classrooms” at the school were used for Islamic prayers by students.

He also said special religious excursions were organised for those students — a claim denied by a spokesman for the Department of Education.

“Prayer groups occur either at lunchtime or in a special religious education period each Friday. No religious groups go on special ­excursions,” the spokesman said.

He reaffirmed the department was working with police: “Following recent events in Parramatta, the department is working closely with police in relation to their ­ongoing investigations and the ­security of local schools.”

A spokeswoman for Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said: “The minister acknowledges the extremely serious issue of extremism in the NSW community”.