Bondi Beach shooting: What it means for New Zealand’s terror threat level – The Front Page

The terror attack at Bondi Beach has sent shockwaves around the world, including in New Zealand, where police are meeting with leaders from the local Jewish community to discuss security and patrols.

Talking to The Front Page podcast, University of Waikato international law professor Al Gillespie said New Zealand authorities would be looking closely at how the investigation transpires.

“You always wait for an attack, and then you revise your laws and policy afterwards. But for Australia, which already has some of the best laws in the world, it will be hard.

“Anti-Semitism is a plague, and it’s a terrible thing, but there should have been greater security at this event.

“It was foreseeable that there was a place where there was a high density of a particular population. The date was foreseeable, and often, terrorists will be focused on holidays or points of national significance for the community that they target.

“The rise in anti-Semitism is a global problem. It’s not just in Australia, it’s also in New Zealand.”

Australia’s current National Terrorism Threat Level currently sits at “probable” after the attack. This means that there is a “greater than 50% chance of an onshore attack or attack planning in the next 12 months”.

In New Zealand, the threat level is “low”, which means that “a terrorist attack is a realistic possibility”.

Gillespie said the Bondi attack should prompt local authorities to remain vigilant.

“We should have an increased awareness of the risk to both the Jewish community and the Muslim community as well, because people tend to follow these instances and they can see the notoriety that the killing can do.

“I imagine the New Zealand SIS and the police and associated security agencies will all be taking extra effort over the coming weeks.”

The attack in Bondi claimed the lives of 16 people, including one of the assailants. Dozens more were injured, and many remain in hospitals across New South Wales.

Two of the injured are police officers who are both in critical but stable condition.

Police have confirmed there were two offenders, and they were not looking for anyone else.

One of the gunmen, a 50-year-old man, is dead. The second, a 24-year-old man, is in critical but stable condition. The pair was a father and son.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said, “Anti-Semitism is toxic, it is cancerous, and leads to devastating implications.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, “We as a nation are stronger than the cowards who did this.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about:

• What gun reform might look like in response to the attack
• The rapid growth in anti-Semitism in Australia over recent years
• The heroism in amongst the horror.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.