Subject: Bondi Junction tragedy.
E&OE.
ED KAVALEE:
Bondi Junction Westfield opening again for trading this morning, and someone who was there yesterday for the day of reflection is Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who joins us on the line.
Welcome back to the show, Mr Dutton.
PETER DUTTON:
Pleasure mate. Thank you very much for having me guys.
ERIN MOLAN:
Yeah, good morning. What was it like yesterday?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, it was incredibly moving, and you could still see the raw emotion there. Like a lot of the shopping centres now – particularly in areas where you’ve got a lot of units – it’s a backyard for people, young and old, to go there to catch up with their mates, to go to the movies, or have a coffee, or whatever it might be.
I think people were really shattered because obviously of the human cost and the tragedy of that, but also because now they’re thinking twice about how safe is it? And they’re understandable human reactions. But it was pretty raw, and the teddy bears amongst the flowers and the messages, just gave you…sent a cold shiver up your spine because you think about the young baby and kids who are impacted by it as well.
DAVE HUGHES:
Yesterday, well actually this morning already on our show, we had a man on – Vinnie who owns the Glow Bar, where the assailant was shot out the front of. So he’s dealing with that. He’s opening up today. He was talking about Amy Scott, the policewoman who shot the assailant. Mate, you’re a former policeman. Have you got anything to say about her?
PETER DUTTON:
Hughesy, it actually gave me a lot of pride, I’ve got to say, when I saw the vision first up of her just running toward the scene. Obviously there are other acts of heroics as well, but you know, she was there by myself, obviously well trained, and been drilled for it; but you never know how you respond in the circumstance. I just think the fact that she didn’t have any hesitation, she prevented more lives being lost – there’s no question about that. It’s difficult for the police to track down somebody in a centre that size if they’re hiding in different stores, around corners, or get themselves into a room where, you know, 15 people are hiding away from the carnage. So, he could have done a lot more damage, as we know.
So yeah, made me very proud to see what she did and she acted professionally and provided CPR to him afterwards, even though that wouldn’t be your instinct, that’s her training. Yeah, it was an amazing moment.
ERIN MOLAN:
She’s an incredible woman and police officer. You, of course, were a police officer yourself, as Hughesy just mentioned. Have you ever been…
PETER DUTTON:
It was about 30 kilos ago, though. So, it was a long time ago.
ERIN MOLAN:
Yeah, a fair while back. Did you ever have to do anything like that? Were you ever in a situation where you had to pull your gun out? Like, what’s it like?
PETER DUTTON:
The short answer is yes. It’s a heavy weight of responsibility because everything’s going through your mind. If you discharge your weapon, who’s behind you? Ricocheting bullets. Is it the appropriate use of force? There are all of those things that are part of your training that kick in, but again, you just don’t know how you would respond in that situation.
I think the fact that a lot of people stepped up and carried bollards, or the security guards, people who were applying bandages to puncture wounds – that is all pretty incredible in the circumstance, and nobody expects to find themselves in that situation.
ED KAVALEE:
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, thank you for your time this morning. We’ll catch up with you again soon. Westfield Bondi Junction open for trading today.
[ends]