NSW Premier Chris Minns announces police will be carrying machine guns on New Year’s Eve

Police will be carrying machine guns to patrol Sydney’s New Year’s Eve crowds, following the Bondi terrorist attack, with NSW Premier Chris Minns urging the public to thumb their noses at terrorists by turning out in force for the harbour fireworks.

“Yes, in many cases, it will be confronting for members of the community to see police with big firearms and machineguns, which aren’t normally the case, on Sydney’s streets but I don’t make any apology for that,” he told reporters on Monday.

“We have to have a massive police presence. We need to have huge security available on the scene during New Year’s Eve celebrations.”

With more than a million people still expected to turn out for the Sydney Harbour fireworks, Mr Minns is hoping the public resists the urge to stay at home out of fear, a fortnight after 15 innocent lives were taken in the worst-ever terrorist attack on Australian soil.

“I can understand there’s a natural human instinct to say, ‘I’m concerned about what’s happened.’ I’m concerned. Everyone would be but we have to show defiance to these terrorists,” he said.

“We have to genuinely thumb our nose at it. I mean, in their perverted ideology, they would want people to stay home and not spend time with their family and friends.

“They would want people to crawl up in a ball and not live their life. The purpose of the terrorism is actually to say to the community in Bondi and New South Wales - ‘We don’t want you to live your life’ - and I think there’s a good opportunity for parents and members of the community to show that they’re not going to be cowered or intimidated by terrorists.”

The New Year’s Eve fireworks to usher in 2026 will feature a tribute to Bondi’s terror attack victims and an image of a dove with the word “peace” and white light at 9pm.

The NSW Government is proceeding with its own royal commission into the atrocity at Bondi’s December 14 Chanukah by the Sea event, celebrating the first day of a Jewish holiday. A date has yet to be announced as the State government works out the terms of reference with the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.

The Premier promised NSW would be able to question Federal intelligence agencies after the families of 11 victims released a statement condemning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for declining to establish a Commonwealth royal commission, instead leaving career public servant Dennis Richardson to conduct an internal inquiry into ASIO and the Australian Federal Police.

“I’m told and I’m advised that there’s ways to ensure that the State-based commission can get access to other jurisdictions and other heads of agencies and I would expect that to happen,” Mr Minns said.

The NSW Government is preparing legislation to shut down prayer halls that were operating without approval, after the fundamentalist Al Madina Dawah Centre resisted Canterbury-Bankstown Council’s directive for it to shut down.

“I want it to be as easy as turning off a light and that means switching off the utilities, the water, the electricity, must be an option available to authorities,” Mr Minns said.

“We cannot have centres that are operating illegally that are out there in the community, in some cases spreading hate or putting hate into the hearts of young people.

“We know that there’s some preachers that are proven racists.”

Hate preacher Wissam Haddad, from Bankstown’s Al Madina Dawah Centre, has denied radicalising Naveed Akram despite a Federal Court judge, Angus Stewart, in July finding that he had breached Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, making it unlawful to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate members of a community on the basis of race, with sermons describing Jews as “treacherous” and “murderous”.

The NSW Premier is also considering allowing armed security guards to patrol Jewish religious activities on a permanent basis so they are able to commemorate their faith in public without having to do so behind high walls.

“That’s a small price to pay,” Mr Minns said.