NSW Premier addresses the discovery of a caravan loaded with explosives

Published Jan 30, 2025, 1:40 AM

Back to the caravan where police discovered explosives linked to a plot that could have become one of Australia’s worst terror attacks.

For more, NSW Premier Chris Minns joins.

Let's go back to that foiled terror plot in Sydney and Premier Chris Mins joins us. Now, good morning to you, Premiere. I've got to ask you, what's the latest. How many people do you have in custody in regards to this?

Yeah, police will release more information about that later in the morning. It's been reported publicly that the individual who was the owner of the van was already in police custody. The van is in police custody. There's been other arrests for other offenses for people that police believe may be involved. Those inquiries are continuing and I want the public to be assured that there is a massive counter terrorism investigation taking place across New South Wales as we speak. This is a massive number one priority further state and I can understand why the public's concerned about what has been an escalation in anti Semitic attacks in Australia's largest city.

Yeah, it's not stopping, is it. At the moment you just said, it's been reported that the police do have people in custody. Have you got the information or you reading the information from the paper at the moment?

Yeah, Look, I do have the information.

I was briefed about the van's location and the contents of it on the twentieth of January, and I want to make it clear that police will release as much information as soon as possible unless it compromises the inquiry and that has to be the number one priority for New South Wales Police.

When you're talking about senior.

Experienced detectives with twenty five years of counter terrorism experience. They've kept us safe for decades, executing some of the most complicated inquiries that we have in their counter terrorism inquiries. Their judgment in relation to this was that the inquiries needed to take place in a clandestine way. Obviously that was leaked to the media. We responded to that last night. But I don't want the public to believe that people have been twiddling their thumbs for the last ten days. In fact, the exact opposite has been taking place.

We are absolutely not talking about the job that the police are doing. They obviously need to investigate this and get to the bottom of it. But this happened on the twentieth of January. On the twenty first of January, standing in front of a fire bombed childcare center with Anthony Alberizi. That's ten days ago. At any point did you think maybe the public need to know about a caravan laden with explosives.

Matt.

We would let the public know immediately unless it compromised the police investigation. And I want to make it clear that if a counter terrorism investigation began this afternoon, I wouldn't issue a media release unless New South Wales Police told me that's what we needed to do for the inquiry. Now, these are complicated inquiries. There's over one hundred police officers that are with the counter Terrorism Command in New South Wales. I have confidence in their experience and expertise in relation to this because they've foiled terrorist attack after terrorist attack and kept Australia safe for over twenty years or twenty five years since September eleven.

So these are difficult decisions.

I'm not suggesting otherwise, but there's a massive police inquiry that's taking place and police should be able to continue those inquiries. Make a decision that this needs to be done behind the scenes without talking about the methods and tactics that they deploy.

There's a very simple.

Reason for that, so that the criminals don't know what the police are getting up to.

There's been six anti Semitic incidents in the last two months. How concerned are you that this has gotten to the point now where people are filling a caravan with explosives. I mean, this is next level, isn't it.

Yeah, I'll level with you. I'm very concerned.

I mean I wish I could come on the program this morning and say that it was all over and that the threat had been extinguished. But that's not the case. This is obviously an escalation. New South Wales police are putting enormous resources into combating it. It's the opposite of the kind of Australia that we want to live in. But the truth is there's them bad people in our community, bad motives, bad ideologies, bad ethics, bad morals.

We need to confront them.

Civil society needs to stand up and say that we will never tolerate this kind of racism and violence in Australia in twenty five. But it's not over. These inquiries will continue. The only thing I can promise is police will catch the people who are responsible for it.

I've got to ask you, it's alleged that there was a list of targets in that caravan as well. Will we know those targets. Have they been notified?

Yeah, look that is accurate.

Police obviously identified targets in the caravan in the van. It should be known that as a result of escalating anti Semitic attacks in New South Wales, there was several operations that had taken place in the state when it comes to Jewish places of worship, schools, synagogues, community centers that were ongoing, and dialogue between police and security agencies and the Jewish community has taken place, if not on a daily basis, just about that time over the last twelve months. We take this incredibly seriously. I know that this is distressing for the Jewish community, for every Australian because this is the opposite of the kind of country that we want to live. But I just want to say two things. Firstly, most Australians are against this and find it disgusting and deplorable. And secondly, we will leave no stone unturned until the people responsible at court.

You can hear the determination in your voice. Premiere, I appreciate you joining us this morning.

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