In the days since Perth avoided a potential mass-casualty event by little more than luck, according to police, the response from political leaders has been clearly divided along party lines.
A little over three hours after police evacuated Forrest Place after working out what they say was a homemade bomb was thrown into the Invasion Day rally crowd, Premier Roger Cook fronted the media.
“When you have this sort of event take place, it really reminds you how fragile the peace and safety that we all enjoy really is,” he said.
“And how we must also recommit ourselves to making sure that we maintain a peaceful and safe community, doing everything we can.”
A police officers walks down Murray Street Mall after a bomb scare at an Invasion Day rally. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
But in the days that followed, as more details about the device emerged and a 31-year-old man was charged with intent to do harm and making or possessing explosives, opposition leader Basil Zempilas has remained almost completely silent on the issue.
Over that time, the prime minister declared what is now being investigated as a “potential terrorist act” as “quite shocking”.
His colleague, Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy told the ABC it was “an act of real fear”, and tried to encourage parts of the community angry about the incident and its handling, to allow legal processes to take its course.
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“What we don’t want to see happen … is that someone gets off because of words that are being used, whether online or in media interviews like this, that jeopardise any potential for those charges to be taken right through,” she said.
Reactions after alleged bomb attack
Perth MP Patrick Gorman declared what happened “an attack on First Nations Australians, it was an attack on all Australians and it was indeed an attack on our democracy”.
“It is a fundamental right in Australia’s democracy that people can express their views without threats of violence or terror,” he said.
“That’s a right that I will fight for every single day.”
A police car blocking public access to the Murray Street Mall in Perth after a bomb scare at an Invasion Day rally. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
Four state Ministers took questions on what had happened and its potential impacts.
“We value our differences as a community as well as what brings us together,” Amber-Jade Sanderson said.
“We should never, ever accept that this is the norm.
“And every single person in the community has a responsibility to protect those precious rights.”
A detective walks down the Murray Street Mall in Perth after a bomb scare at an Invasion Day rally in Perth. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
But the only comment from the opposition was from shadow energy minister Steve Thomas, who was speaking on other issues on Thursday afternoon.
“It was obviously disgraceful that someone took the action that they did,” he said.
“The reality is that every Western Australian should be able to go out to any function and be safe.”
The Greens and One Nation have also spoken to condemn the attack.
“No one should be looking to cause harm to another human being and it’s a disgraceful act,” WA One Nation leader Rod Caddies said.
Rod Caddies, the leader of One Nation Western Australia, has condemned the attack. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
The opposition leader had still not spoken to the media as of Friday afternoon, declining two interview requests from the ABC.
But on Instagram, he has posted about the government’s demersal fishing ban, taking his “listening tour” to Midland, and attending a citizenship ceremony.
There was no mention of the alleged attack until his weekly column in the state’s only daily newspaper on Friday.
Basil Zempilas’s first public mention of the attempted attack was in his Friday newspaper column. (ABC News)
“What is undeniable is the alleged actions of a 31-year-old man … struck fear into the hearts of protesters gathered at Forrest Place and the broader community,” he wrote.
Why can’t the ABC identify the accused?
There is a court order preventing the publication of information that could identify the man.
A 31-year-old man faced court on Tuesday, January 27 charged with one count of committing an unlawful act with intent to harm and one count of making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.The court put in place a suppression order to conceal the man’s identity after his defence lawyer raised concerns for his safety.That includes his name, address and any other identifying particulars.The legally-binding suppression order also prevents the publication of which custodial facility the man is being held.He is due to appear in court again in Perth on February 17.
A police officer rolls out tape to block Murray Street Mall after a bomb scare at an Invasion Day rally. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
“Every West Australian has the right to gather and protest lawfully and any action which deprives or endangers that right must be condemned and punished with the full force of the law.”
Invasion Day bomb incident investigated as ‘potential terrorist act’
By way of comparison – although not directly comparable – after the Bondi terror attack, which killed 15 Jewish-Australians celebrating Hanukkah, Zempilas posted twice that evening and three more times in the days that followed.
“What’s important is that all Australians see political leaders around the country condemning this violent act,” Roger Cook said yesterday of the Invasion Day rally.
“And that’s why you’ve heard from the prime minister, that’s why you’ve heard from the Premier of Western Australia.
“But it’s incumbent on all political leaders to denounce this act of violence, condemn it in the very strongest possible terms.”
Basil Zempilas has restrained himself from commenting on the issue. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
The ABC asked Zempilas why he did not comment on the near-tragedy until Friday, but he declined to respond.
That reticence on the part of one of WA’s political leaders comes at the end of a week when Indigenous leaders and communities across the country expressed anger and outrage at what they perceived as the muted response to the Invasion Day incident from police, the media and politicians.
A police van driving down Murray St Mall in Perth after a bomb scare at an Invasion Day rally. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
The attempted attack, and the political and media response, have sent a message “that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not matter”, according to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss.
The limited response from one of the state’s top political figures hasn’t helped them feel their concerns have been taken seriously.
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