Daniel Andrews backs PM on radical Islam in wake of Bourke Street attack

Victorian Premier says PM was right to call out Islam as he rules out major changes to Melbourne’s CBD to mitigate terror threat.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Police Minister Lisa Neville on Saturday.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has ruled out wholesale changes to tram and car movements through Melbourne’s inner city in the wake of Friday’s deadly attack, saying any response must be proportionate to the threat the city faces.

The Labor leader also backed Scott Morrison’s remarks calling radical Islam the most dangerous form of religious ideology and a threat to the Australian way of life, saying the Prime Minister had “struck the right balance”.

Just two days after a man was killed and two others were stabbed in a frightening attack on Bourke Street, Mr Andrews and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy turned out to honour veterans at Remembrance Day celebrations at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.

Amid a heavy police presence at the shrine, Mr Andrews said it was gratifying to see so many of Melbourne residents attend the service given the horrific event on Friday, and praised the city for shirking off fears to support veterans.

“It is a great statement of defiance and strength against the terrible scenes we saw on Bourke Street on Friday,” Mr Andrews said, standing alongside his wife Catherine and Veterans Affairs Minister John Eren.

When asked about the response to Friday’s attack, Mr Andrews stood by the steps the government had already taken to secure the city, including concrete blocks and other measures to restrict the movement of cars in parts of the city.

Labor MP Anne Aly: It's important we don't use language that will divide the community, as opposed to singling out groups and religions. I don't care how politically desperate you are.

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— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 10, 2018

But he ruled out making any more changes to the inner city until he had advice that said further restrictions or works were necessary.

“There is a challenge to run the tram network and to upgrade and protect and enhance the physical infrastructure of this city, that is a challenge,” Mr Andrews said.

“But we will do, and have done, everything possible to keep Victorians safe from an infrastructure point of view, but we’re not going to fundamentally change the way the city works by, for instance, not running any trams. That wouldn’t make any sense.”

When asked if there were additional considerations underway to remove cars from a larger chunk of the inner city, he said it was unlikely.

“What we do is follow advice, and we’ve no plans to do that and I don’t think that’s necessarily going to achieve the outcome we’re trying to achieve which is a proportional response to a very real threat,” Mr Andrews said.

The Premier said he would continue to liaise with law enforcement authorities in the wake of the attack, and said conversations so far included the Director General of ASIO, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, as well as Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Some Muslim groups have hit back at Scott Morrison’s comments against religious extremism made in the wake of Friday’s attack, but Mr Andrews said he believed the comments were appropriate.

“I spoke with the Prime Minister only a few minutes after he had made his comments and I said to him that I thought he had struck the right balance,” Mr Andrews said.

“We’ve seen some commentary from people who are not from Victoria . they’re free to have their view … but I’ll be clear about the threats we face, we need to be very clear about the challenge we face.”

.@ScottMorrisonMP: The greatest threat to our way of life is radical, violent, extremist Islam. I, however, applaud the brave and passionate Australians in the Muslim community who just want the best for their families.

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Speaking immediately after addressing the state’s Remembrance Day service, the Premier and Mr Eren announced a plan to introduce a weekly Last Post ceremony at the Shrine of Remembrance.

He also announced a $1.5m investment to fund the Centenary of Anzac Centre, which provides mental healthcare for current and former Australian Defence Force personnel and their families.

The government also provide $1m to Veterans in Construction to give jobs to 100 veterans across major projects and private sector jobs, and another $1m to the Vietnam Veterans Association to support members across the state, including $200,000 to the National Vietnam Veterans Museum at Phillip Island.