Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told his countrymen “to go about their business as usual,” but “appreciate that…there are people who would wish to do us harm” in response to the on-going hostage situation in Sydney on Sunday.
Abbott said “we don’t yet know the motivation of the perpetrator. We don’t know whether this is politically motivated, although, obviously, there are some indications that it could be.”
He continued “we have to appreciate that, even in a society such as ours, there are people who would wish to do us harm. That’s why we have police and security organizations of the utmost professionalism that are ready and able to respond to a whole range of situations and contingencies, including the situation that we are now seeing in Sydney.”
Abbot declared that “the whole point of politically-motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves. Australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society. Nothing should ever change that, and that’s why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual.” And “the ordinary business of government must go on, and it will go on.”
He further stated that he and other national officials in the country were being briefed on the situation.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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