Authorities have declared the alleged stabbing of a Sydney bishop a terror incident and will continue to investigate "from all angles", the Australian Federal Police Commissioner has said.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faced the media in Canberra on Tuesday morning, alongside AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw and ASIO director-general Mike Burgess.
"Last night, a 16-year-old who has been apprehended was accused of stabbing a bishop at Christ The Good Shepherd church in Wakeley," Mr Albanese said.
"This is a disturbing incident, there is no place for violence in our community, there's no place for violent extremism.
"We're a peace-loving nation, this is a time to unite, not divide, as a community, and as a country."
Mr Albanese said a joint counter-terrorism taskforce has been established, including ASIO, the AFP and NSW police, to investigate the incident.
The national security committee of cabinet also met on Tuesday Morning.
Commissioner Kershaw told journalists the incident remained under investigation, and urged those with information to contact police.
"This attack will have a significant impact on the Australian community, and I would like to reassure the Australian community that the AFP, together with its law enforcement partners, particularly under the joint counter-terrorism team, is working to investigate this incident from all angles," he said.
"As this is an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate to discuss further details and we urge anyone with information to contact New South Wales police."
The ASIO boss said he supported steps taken to declare a terrorism incident, with the agency investigating individuals connected to the teenager.
"We support New South Wales government and the police for calling this a terrorist incident," Mr Burgess said.
"It does appear to be religiously motivated but we continue our lines of investigation, at the same time, our job is to look at individuals connected with the attacker to assure ourselves there's no-one else in the community with similar intent.
"At this stage, we have no indications of that, but it's prudent that we do this to determine there's no threats or immediate threats to security - at this time, we're not seeing that."
Miriam Webber
Miriam Webber is a federal politics and public sector reporter, with a keen interest in integrity, transparency and accountability in government. She has been a member of the federal political bureau since 2023, and previously worked as the city reporter. Reach her at miriam.webber@canberratimes.com.au
Miriam Webber is a federal politics and public sector reporter, with a keen interest in integrity, transparency and accountability in government. She has been a member of the federal political bureau since 2023, and previously worked as the city reporter. Reach her at miriam.webber@canberratimes.com.au
