Thousands of people have taken up key vantage points for New Year’s Eve fireworks, with Chris Minns asking Sydneysiders to “square your shoulders, puff out your chest and walk out” to celebrate as a show of defiance after the Bondi attack.
Key viewing sites, including at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, were already at capacity on Wednesday morning.
The New South Wales premier said police were putting “extra measures” in place for the city’s public transport system, which many were expected to use before and after Wednesday’s celebrations. He said this was in addition to the presence of more than 2,500 police officers, including some with long-arm weapons, on Sydney’s streets.
“We need to show strength and resilience during this period,” Minns said on Wednesday. “And if that is that you square your shoulders, puff out your chest and walk out even in the face of genuine community concern, I think that we’ve got an obligation do that.”
The transport minister, John Graham, said Transport for NSW was expecting more than a million people to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the city, including at free viewing sites around the harbour.
“More than a thousand extra [public transport] services are going to be in place, that’s at 40% up on a normal day,” he said.
Public transport services will run continuously for 46 hours, with roads in the CBD closing from noon and train stations close to the harbour closing progressively from 3pm.
Minns said police were on “high alert”, and there were extra measures in place on public transport, but declined to provide detail on tactical operations.
He would not comment on the number of officers carrying long-arms but confirmed they would be embedded in crowds rather than in tactical positions.
“They’ll be operational and highly visible,” he said.
Royal commission calls
Minns refused to weigh in on whether there should be a federal royal commission into the Bondi attack after the Daily Telegraph reported the state opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, had urged the premier to lobby Anthony Albanese to establish one.
“They [the federal government] have made their decision,” Minns said. “We’ve made our decision, we are going ahead with the royal commission in NSW.
“This is not something that’s going to be over and done with 20 days, 30 days. We believe there needs to be fundamental change in NSW to combat antisemitism, to combat extremism in our community.”
Minns, who visited Ahmed al-Ahmed on Tuesday after he was readmitted to hospital, said he would respect the Bondi hero’s privacy but added that the 43-year-old was “recovering”.
“His injuries are very serious … he was in serious danger of not making it, and his recovery has been phenomenal.”
