Questions are being raised about what changes could be made to ensure children and staff are safe as they return to school after a spate of antisemitic attacks.
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00:00It's fair to say there is both a mixture of anger and fear, not only for the welfare of
00:07children, staff, and indeed the parents dropping off their kids to school today, but also over
00:13the general confluence of anti-Semitic incidents, not just at Mount Sinai College, but also
00:18just last week we saw a childcare center which isn't actually a Jewish center, but is nearby
00:24the Maroubra Synagogue, and of course this school here, Mount Sinai, where I am right
00:28now, that has seen a real state of fear take hold and a frustration that these incidents
00:34are still taking place and so rapidly thereafter.
00:37We spoke to the parents as they dropped off their children for the first day back for
00:41most of their kids, here's what they had to say.
00:44A bit apprehensive about the first day back at school, but everyone's excited for what
00:50the new year begins, and together as a community we'll stick together.
00:55We're excited to go back to school, and I mean, it's not great what's happening, but
01:00you have to just carry on and carry on with life and go to school.
01:04What are you most looking forward to?
01:06Playing with my friends.
01:13And so you can see there, despite the angers and frustrations, there's also a resilience.
01:18Now there are questions about what might be done to ensure these schools are safe.
01:23Already armed guards are a feature of many Jewish schools in Sydney, and have been in
01:27some instances for more than two decades, post-September 11th some of these measures
01:32were taken.
01:33What's newer is the presence of police officers.
01:36This morning, briefly during school drop-off, we saw a small number of police around the
01:40site to ensure it went off without a hitch.
01:43We also saw the local member for the region, the federal member, Matt Thistlethwaite, who's
01:48part of the Labor government, he's spoken about the idea of additional support in the
01:52way of extra police patrols coming to the site.
01:56That could happen as soon as next week, and it could also happen at other Jewish schools
02:00right around the city and state as well, Lorna.
02:03OK, Miles, so police investigations into those are continuing, but there's also this major
02:09investigation after the caravan was discovered with explosives inside.
02:15Any updates on that today?
02:17Well, Lorna, the significant developments have been around the naming of two people
02:21allegedly listed on a police search warrant.
02:24They are Tammy Farugia and Scott Marshall, who are already in police custody, charged
02:29over separate and unrelated incidents to the discovery of this caravan with significant
02:33explosives in the northwest of Sydney.
02:36Now, police have had that caravan in their custody since discovering it about 10 days
02:41or so ago, and they're still conducting their investigations.
02:44One key part of their investigation as well right now is determining how PowerGel, the
02:49significant explosives that were there, were able to be in public hands.
02:54They're typically only used on mine sites, but one mining expert has already told the
02:59ABC they've typically not been used at mine sites for some time, as long as a decade even.
03:05One significant manufacturer of PowerGel also said they hadn't made this kind of explosive
03:09for some time as well.
03:11So considering all of this, police have some key questions to answer here, and they're
03:16not alone in trying to do that.
03:18They're joined by federal police, as well as the New South Wales Crime Commission, and
03:22on top of that, intelligence officers from ASIO.
03:26There's a significant appetite to see those held responsible, or rather those who are
03:31responsible held to account for it, and police do believe still at this stage there are other
03:36people who have significant involvement in this incident who have not yet been arrested
03:41or charged.
03:42They have said, even though part of this operation was clandestine and secret, that they would
03:46update the public with significant information when it comes to hand, but did say that parts
03:51of their investigation coming to public after they'd kept it secret had compromised elements
03:56of their work.