Sadly, this type of attack is happening and will keep happening more frequently, according to intelligence agencies. And the worst part is that it's almost impossible to stop.
Australia has what the world considers the 'gold standard' gun control. After the Port Arthur massacre, they tightened up the rules.
But it still has more guns now than it did back in the 90s - both in number and per capita.
Guns don't cause terror attacks of course. For that, you'll need radial fanatics with a screw loose. The internet is full of them. It's a great place to meet like-minded people, sadly.
We run very expensive security agencies in most Western countries whose job it is to track people down and prevent Bondi beach events.
In this case, ASIO knew about the son with the gun in Sydney as early as six years ago. There were links to ISIS. But it didn't stop him, did it?
Brenton Tarrant was posting about the God-awful things he was going to do up to a year beforehand online, but wasn't stopped, either.
Samsudeen - the guy who slit peoples' throats while they shopped for groceries in New Lynn - he was actually being watched and followed at the time and even he still managed to stab eight innocent people.
Some argue migration is the problem. They say Jews and Muslims have been fighting for centuries and that's where the problem lies. Except mass shootings are perpetrated by all different sorts of people for all different sorts of reasons.
There's left-wing extremism - the death of Charlie Kirk, the insurance assassin, the attempt on Trump are all suspected of being motivated by far-left extremists.
And then you've got right-wing extremism and radical Islamic terrorists. And then there's just completely crazy people who seem to have no motive, they just want to be famous or kill people for a body count like life is some video game.
The sad, disturbing, uncomfortable part of this attack is that it won't be the last, and there's very little it seems we can actually do to stop them.
Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
quote 'We run very expensive security agencies in most Western countries whose job it is to track people down and prevent Bondi beach events.
In this case, ASIO knew about the son with the gun in Sydney as early as six years ago. There were links to ISIS. But it didn't stop him, did it?
Brenton Tarrant was posting about the God-awful things he was going to do up to a year beforehand online, but wasn't stopped, either.
Samsudeen - the guy who slit peoples' throats while they shopped for groceries in New Lynn - he was actually being watched and followed at the time and even he still managed to stab eight innocent people.'
Ryan, it's almost like the 'State' doesn't mind letting known persons attempt/complete their goals.
What did Regan say about the nine worst words you can hear from the govt- 'I'm from the government and here to help you'.
After some hand wringing, some flowers and photo op's 'we' will be informed of some new ways the govt will keep us safe from boogey monsters.
It won't be a loss of liberties-just some new rules for safety. Maybe a govt issued common device and a data centre auditing in real time, that device. I feel safer already-do I have enough social credit score to buy a litre of petrol..............where's my device?
I agree with Pauline Hanson that Marxist Albo has blood on his hands.
It is interesting to note, that this incident was waiting to happen.
The Australian PM, has been "informed" of a "potential incident/issue" that had the possibility of occurring, with the assailants being of the Muslim faith, also being aligned with Islamic radical groups.
This has been a common denominator from the time Israel was created in 1948 and has increased in tempo since. Gaza being the best indicator of intent.
Please also note, that, that "wonderful" peace deal "created by Trump" was doomed to failure from the get go, this being seen by all and sundry following said 'event'.
Hamas, bends "a knee" to no one.
If you want to know what Aussie's think of their current PM, do not be surprised at the verbal venom you are likely to hear.
"Tongue in cheek", we need to send Judith Collins over there to help them conduct a secretive enquiry, that the public will not get to read the final report.
First of all: Deepest sympathy to the Jewish communities worldwide and especially in New Zealand. I can't believe people are unaware of the creeping anti-semitism here. I wrote about this months ago with regard to anti-Semitic slogans in our most unlikely of neighbourhoods. We have blatant political terrorist- garbed members in our parliament and no one blinks an eye. Sharpen up Gerry Brownlie it is no longer amusing or acceptable.
Fifteen people killed at Bondi Beach. Fifteen. Including a 10-year-old child. Innocent. Enjoying Hanukkah. Gone in an instant. Terror in paradise.
And while the world recoils, the politicians who have spent years railing against Israel — Chloe Swarbrick, Marama Davidson, Te Pāti Māori — are silent. Where does their humanity start? Where does it end?
Swarbrick has been unequivocal about Israel:
“It is ethnic cleansing. It is apartheid. It is genocide.”
She’s told rallies:
“We should all be able to agree that killing children is wrong… Everybody in power who disagrees with that is wrong.”
Davidson has framed the conflict as one-sided criminality:
“It’s time for the Government to sanction Israel for its violent occupation.”
“Weaponising humanitarian aid must stop.”
And yet after Bondi? Nothing. Not a statement. Not a tweet. Not even the faintest whiff of moral outrage aimed at antisemitic terror targeting Jewish civilians. Silence.
Te Pāti Māori, whose rhetoric has described Israel’s actions as a “genocidal campaign” and “apartheid,” were equally mute.
This is the question no one in the mainstream media (including you, Ryan) seems willing to ask:
If killing civilians is always wrong — as they insist — why is there no outcry when Jewish families are murdered at a festival? If their moral framing casts one side as uniquely criminal, one side as uniquely victimised, what happens when that narrative metastasizes into real-world hatred?
The NZ Herald editorial today made this clear:
“Anti-Semitism surged immediately after October 7 — before Israel’s military response.”
“To those, including in the political class, who have emboldened, appeased and excused the obvious hate — stop.”
This is not fringe commentary. This is the country’s largest newspaper spelling out what happens when political rhetoric has consequences.
And yet, while people die, Greens and Te Pāti Māori remain silent. Not because they are unaware, not because they are uncertain, but because moral absolutism is inconvenient. Virtue signalling is selective. Human rights matter only when it fits the narrative.
Here’s the Clarkson-style chloe! Marama! TPM ! — speak. Condemn. Show that human life matters across the board, not just when it serves your politics.
The question isn’t “Did you support Israel?” The question is: Do you believe in consistent human decency? Because right now, your silence is deafening. And in that silence, history has a brutal way of keeping score.
Let’s be blunt. If moral clarity applies only to one side of a conflict, it isn’t moral clarity. It’s ideology. And ideology, when wielded like a club, can kill. Not abstractly. Not symbolically. Literally. People die. Children die. Families die.
And yet when terror strikes Jewish children, when innocents fall in Sydney, the moral outrage disappears. Poof. Vanished.
That is the question the mainstream refuses to ask. That is the question that matters. And we have a right — a duty — to ask it.
Silence, in the face of human slaughter, is not neutrality.
It is a choice. And that choice has a cost. Fifteen lives in Sydney know it today. The world watching knows it too.
—PB
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining the discussion. Breaking Views welcomes respectful contributions that enrich the debate. Please ensure your comments are not defamatory, derogatory or disruptive. We appreciate your cooperation.