One week after Australia's worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, questions remain about how the alleged father-son duo stayed under the radar of intelligence agencies. The attack at Bondi's Chanukah by the Sea event claimed 15 lives, prompting demands for information on what agencies knew and did.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated something might have gone awry, telling ABC radio that 'quite clearly' there were issues. He called for an examination of how systems worked, particularly regarding the 2019 assessment of the younger alleged shooter, Naveed Akram.
Naveed Akram, 24, came under ASIO's radar in October 2019 for alleged associations with individuals involved in a reported Islamic State cell. ASIO monitored him for six months but concluded he was not an ongoing threat. Critics question whether this assessment should have triggered a movement alert when Akram and his father Sajid travelled to the Philippines weeks before the attack.
The father-son duo stayed at a budget hotel in Davao City, Mindanao, from 1-28 November. Mindanao's remote regions are home to pro-Islamic State militant groups. Investigations are examining whether the trip was linked to preparations for the attack.
Professor Michele Grossman of the Avert research network said the focus should be on what Akram has been doing since 2019, not why ASIO didn't maintain constant surveillance. She noted agencies look at thousands of people and must prioritise. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke expressed 'full confidence' in ASIO's decisions.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has highlighted an increasingly complex national security environment, with counter-terrorism remaining a priority but facing a wider threat landscape including foreign interference and diverse extremist ideologies.
