The prime minister declares that "violent extremism" has no place in Australia.

Speaking to the media about the Wakeley stabbing incident from last night is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. There was "no place for violence in our community" and "violent extremism," he said, calling the incident "disturbing."

I'm joined by the AFP Commissioner, Kershaw and the Director General of ASIO here this morning. Last night a 16 year old who has been apprehended was accused of stabbing a bishop at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley. This is a disturbing incident. There is no place for violence in our community. There is no place for violent extremism. We are a peace loving nation. This is a time to unite, not divide as a community and as a country. Last night the NSW Police overnight declared this a terror incident and have stood up Strike Force Petrina.

The prime minister announced that the police had designated the reported stabbing as a terror incident over night and that the AFP and ASIO had joined forces to form a joint counterterrorism taskforce.

As a result of that declaration, a joint counter terrorism task force has been established which includes the AFP and ASIO. And this morning we have had a meeting of the National Security Committee to receive formal briefings, following informal briefings that occurred earlier this morning. Can I say that we understand the distress and concerns that are there in the community, particularly after the tragic event at Bondi Junction on Saturday.

But it is not acceptable to impede and injure police doing their duty or to damage police vehicles in a way that we saw last night. People should not take the law into their own hands, but should allow our police and our security agencies to do their job. My job as Prime Minister is to give them that support and I will continue to do so. And I've asked for the NSC to be convened this morning, and I now ask Commissioner Kershaw to comment.

Premier of Queensland Steven Miles has sent his "best wishes" and "deepest condolences" to the families of the two people stabbed in Sydney.

In response to the stabbing incident that occurred in western Sydney last night, the faith leaders had endorsed a joint call for unity. in the complete statement from religious leaders in NSW, approved by Sheikh Riad El-Rifai, the National Grand Mufti of Australia, and Dr. Rateb Jneid, president of AFIC.

We represent community leaders from our communities.

We are united in calling for calm in response to the events at Wakeley [yesterday] evening.

We reject violence in all its forms.

We are calling on our communities to extend our message of care and compassion to all.

We have trust in our first responders and confidence in their work.

We’re calling on everyone to act with kindness and respect for each other.

Now is the time to show that we are strong and united as a NSW community.

Official press release statement regarding the recent knife attack targeting His Grace (HG) Mar Mari Emmanuel, Diocesan Bishop for Christ the Good Shepherd Church, Wakeley Sydney Australia:

Nothing is free like a free press. Give now to help sustain independent journalism in your community.

It's evident from recent events that there has never been a better moment to support local news. Donate now to help sustain independent reporting.

AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw and prime minister Anthony Albanese slammed police attacked outside Wakeley church last night. At a press conference earlier, Kershaw called it “a disgraceful act from the community who attacked police at that scene.”

“Well, quite clearly you would have seen last night the attention that was given by NSW Police and then the fact that the incident was called, declared a terrorism incident overnight in the early hours of this morning. We have had this morning briefings to myself as Prime Minister. We've already had a meeting of the National Security Committee. We have engagement between NSW and the Federal Government. And I would just say, reaffirm the message of Premier Minns that this is a time where police need to be allowed to do their job, need to be respected for their professionalism that they continue to show. And Australians can have every faith in the professionalism of our agencies.”, Mr Albanese said.

Earlier, ASIO boss Mike Burgess explained why the church stabbing was quickly declared a terror incident. He said the incident appeared to be religiously motivated, but there was no indication of a wider threat to the community or anyone else involved. He would not say when the 16-year-old alleged offender first came to police attention or if he was radicalised online.

Sure, the simple answer there is to call it a terrorist attack you need indications of, well, information or evidence that suggests actually the motivation was religiously motivated or ideologically motivated. In the case of Saturday, that was not the case. In this case, the information we and the police have before us, it would indicate strongly that that is the case and that's why it was called an act of terrorism.

Any news tip ?

Contact our editor via Proton Mail encrypted, X Direct Message, LinkedIn, or email. You can securely message him on Signal by using his username, Miko Santos.