Sending army to protect Sydney's Jewish community 'not off the table'
Sydneysiders can expect to see more police officers carrying long-armed guns in the weeks ahead, with the premier not ruling out sending troops to protect the Jewish community.
Deploying the army to Jewish areas to protect the community has not been ruled out by the NSW premier as he contemplates security changes following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
At a press conference on Sunday, Chris Minns also warned that Sydneysiders could expect to see more police officers carrying long-armed guns before and beyond New Year's Eve.
Mr Minns said that "nothing was off the table" in response to a question about the deployment of troops, confirming that discussions about it were ongoing.
"We're going to look very closely at security programs and measures in the future. We have to do things completely differently," he said.
"The situation as it currently stands, it can't continue … there's a big challenge ahead of us to rebuild Jewish life in Sydney. So I'm not going to take anything off the table.
"We're in discussions about it [army deployment]. I'm not prepared to front run it because obviously that's a change for us."
The premier says NSW's security measures and protocols have to change. (ABC News: Jack Fisher)
On Saturday, it was revealed that a November 26 document produced by the Jewish Community Security Group NSW (CSG NSW) warned NSW Police of a heightened risk of violent antisemitism during the Chanukah by the Sea event.
When quizzed about it, the premier flagged that arming CSG NSW would also be considered.
"Clearly from media reports and my own enquiries, that CSG was in contact with NSW Police, and while there were police on site, clearly not enough to deal with the threat as history's tragically shown," he said.
"Now that means a root and branch change to security protocols and provisions in place.
"It also means we need to have a longer, deeper look at arming CSG. Now that is a step that we haven't taken in the past."
Firearms 'confronting for some people'
The changed protocols for police, described by Mr Minns as "absolutely necessary" to restore community confidence, will see some officers holding long-fire arms.
"I want to send a clear message that NSW Police will be out in massive numbers," he said.
"In some cases, carrying firearms and weapons that you haven't seen before.
"We haven't normally seen on the streets of Sydney, long-armed firearms, but NSW Police will have them and that will be confronting for some people."
While no details were provided on how many of these types of weapons would be out on the streets and where, they were in use at last Sunday's Day of Reflection.