Sydneysiders are sharing the pain of those who lost loved ones in yesterday’s cafe siege and shoot-out, but the city’s “heart is beating again”, the New South Wales Premier says.
Mike Baird said the city had been tested by the siege, which ended with the deaths of Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson, who were among 17 people taken hostage by self-styled cleric Man Haron Monis.
To read more about Katrina Dawson – click here.
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird said the Red Cross would help deliver flowers to the affected families.
Speaking near Martin Place’s Lindt cafe, where thousands of people have left flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims, Mr Baird said despair was being replaced by the “emergence of hope”.
“Behind me, the flowers, the hands that have come down and put those flowers in place, that shows that this city’s heart is beating again,” he said.
The city pays tribute.
“Despite the tragedy, goodness is pouring forth.”
Mr Baird said he was among thousands of people who shared in the grief of the families of Ms Dawson, a mother of three children, and Mr Johnson, the cafe’s manager.
“I want them to know that I have had hundreds and hundreds of emails from people across the state saying, ‘please give them the sense that we are with you, we share your pain’.
“This is a collective pain. This is not just their pain, this is the state’s pain.”
17-year-old Phoebe with chalk tributes in Martin Place.
Asked about a court’s decision to release the gunman on bail last year, after he was charged with being an accessory to murder, Mr Baird said he was “outraged like everyone else”.
He said changes to bail laws, which were passed before the siege, were being implemented as quickly as possible.
“There are so many things that need to be answered and, yes, we will be working through those,” he said.
“But ultimately this is a time that we come together and we become stronger by doing that.”
He said the Red Cross would take responsibility for distributing the cards and flowers to the victims’ families.
Flick through the gallery for images from the memorial.
This post originally appearred on the ABC and has been republished here with full permission.
Top Comments
If there's a good outcome out of this it's how the average joe in this city essentially ignored the social media keyboard colonels and the redneck element and, secondly, how the city poured its heart out with flowers and quiet tribute afterwards. I was in the city on the Monday, quite close to MP and ventured up at lunchtime. I was on the train that afternoon and again on Tuesday morning. Strangers talked to one another and not once did I hear anything about Muslim this or that. Up at MP later that day people were very quiet and grown men and women had tears streaming as they reflected at the flower area. It was very emotional. On the train that afternoon I noticed a couple of people openly smiling and nodding at a Muslim woman in hijab. For all the crap you hear from loud minorities, I think collectively we're a tolerant, fair go sort of bunch at heart.
Q: Why was this gunman out on bail?
A: Because his previous crimes were those against women. An accessory to murder his ex-wife and sexual assault of women.
Again and again the criminal justice system shows how it minimises crimes against women.