Sydney mourns Bondi stabbing

Sally Sara: Hello and welcome to The World Today. It's Monday, the 15th of April. I'm Sally Sara coming to you from Gadigal Land in Sydney. Today, Sydney in mourning, tributes to the six people who died in the stabbing attack at Bondi Junction as police try to piece together what motivated the killer, Joel Cauchi. And tensions rise in the Middle East after Iran's direct attack on Israel. What are the chances of the conflict spreading?

Firas Maksad: I think that, ironically, is something that they and the Biden administration very much share. Both parties have been very clear over the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians that they don't want to see that conflict spread and metastasise in the region.

Sally Sara: Residents in Sydney's east are still reeling from the horrifying mass stabbing that took place over the weekend inside Westfield Bondi Junction. Forty-year-old Joel Cauchi fatally stabbed six people in the attack on Saturday. Locals and residents from all over Sydney are continuing to lay flowers to commemorate the victims. Alison Xiao reports.

Alison Xiao: As Tyron Whitehead opens his flower shop this Monday morning, it's far from a normal work day.

Tyron Whitehead: We're trying to console the customers, the people that experienced this situation at the time.

Alison Xiao: He's been selling flowers for decades, but today most of his customers are buying his bouquets to add to a growing mountain of floral tributes just a few short steps away from his shop.

Tyron Whitehead: Whether it's a funeral, whether it's a wedding, a birthday, a celebration, whatever, but unfortunately this time, for the first time that anyone has ever seen in this area, you know, terrible tragedy.

Alison Xiao: Westfield Bondi Junction is only a few metres away from his store and Tyron has been reliving the trauma of Saturday afternoon.

Tyron Whitehead: I thought it was a marathon run, but anyway, then I saw the terrorised faces of all sorts of people running down the mall and it was absolutely terrifying. For me myself, I just feel sorry for the people that were involved.

Alison Xiao: Sydney is grappling with shock and grief after six people died in a mass stabbing at the shopping centre. Eight people remain in hospital, including a nine-month-old baby girl who is in a serious but stable condition. As locals walked through a sombre Bondi Junction, they shared with The World Today how deeply they're feeling about this tragedy.

Opinion: I'm absolutely devastated and I have to say I'm actually quite teary, which, yeah, and I also feel very vulnerable. We were actually there 15 minutes before. I just so happened to let it leave, so kind of coming here and seeing the kind of floral arrangement and obviously seeing the families on TV kind of has really hit home and I had a bit of a pit in my stomach all morning since seeing it. I was really, you know, panicked because they were planning to go to Westfield to take my granddaughter to the playground at Level 5 and I was like, my heart's pounding and it's like, oh my god, where are they? And it was just, it was a horrible feeling. I was really panicked and I can't barely sleep until now and still thinking about those victims. It's just crazy, you know. We're all feeling it, we really are, you know.

Alison Xiao: Many who visited the vigils shed tears this morning.

Opinion: We just got out of it, you know, just minutes before it happened. So yeah, we were shaking when we saw on the news.

Alison Xiao: How would you sum up how you're feeling this morning?

Opinion: Just sad. It could have happened to us.

Alison Xiao: Others were struggling to comprehend the tragedy.

Opinion: Sitting down reflecting on it, it's like, should I have locked her in a shop and run back in and tried to do something? I've actually been contemplating... should I be doing medical training now, combat training, doing something that enables me to protect somebody else if another situation, even if it's just someone slipping and falling and hitting their head. You just want to help, I guess everyone wants to help if they can.

Alison Xiao: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the country is in mourning.

Anthony Albanese: This is a difficult time for our nation and for all Australians. All Australians can relate to going shopping on a Saturday afternoon with their family. It should be a place without risk, a place where people feel safe.

Alison Xiao: The Premier, Chris Minns, encouraged those who were struggling coming to terms with the horrifying attacks to remember the acts of bravery, like the bystanders who grabbed bollards and chairs to confront the attacker and retail staff who helped shelter people.

Chris Minns: Whether it was some young man that confronted this murderer mid-attack with bollards and chairs, or the actions of Inspector Amy Scott who ran towards the attacker and without any question saved many, many lives.

Alison Xiao: The Premier says $18 million will go towards establishing an independent coronial inquiry into the attack. He says the government may look at reviewing mental health support in the state after police confirmed the 40-year-old attacker, Joel Cauchi, had been diagnosed with mental health issues.

Chris Minns: We spend billions on mental health every year, but if it's going to the right places, if it's spent in the right way, if the quantum is enough, will be the focus of our inquiry.

Alison Xiao: New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb says the attacker's mental health will be investigated by the coroner. She says another line of inquiry for police will be whether and why the attacker's victims were mostly women.

Karen Webb: It's obvious to me, it's obvious to detectives that that seems to be an area of interest that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men. We don't know what was operating in the mind of the offender and that's why it's important now that detectives spend so much time interviewing those who know him, who are around him, close to him, so we can get some insight into what he might have been thinking.

Alison Xiao: In Bondi, the outpouring of grief and support continues from members of the community who have been brought together under such sad circumstances.

Opinion: I've always thought this suburb was just a hub where people came to and went out of, but now I feel that it has a real heart.

Alison Xiao: Premier Chris Minns says a permanent memorial may be set up at Bondi to remember the victims.

Sally Sara: That's Alison Xiao reporting there.

Sally Sara: A federal court judge is delivering his judgement in former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrman's defamation case against Network 10 and journalist Lisa Wilkinson. Mr Lehrmann claims he was defamed in a Network 10 interview with Ms Higgins, where she alleged she was raped by a colleague in Parliament House in 2019. The criminal case against Mr Lehrmann was abandoned due to juror misconduct and no findings were made against him. After five weeks of evidence, Justice Michael Lee is still handing down his judgement in the subsequent defamation case. Our reporter Rachel Hayter has been listening in. Rachel, good afternoon. What has Justice Lee said so far?

Rachel Hayter: Good afternoon, Sally. Justice Michael Lee has decided that even though Bruce Lehrmann was not named in the interview Brittany Higgins gave to journalist Lisa Wilkinson, which was aired on Network 10 in 2021, in which Ms Higgins alleged she was raped by Mr Lehrmann, Bruce Lehrmann was identifiable in that interview. And because he was identifiable, he was therefore able to be defamed. And the defendants, 10 and Ms Wilkinson, have to prove that the allegations aired in that interview are true. And the central allegation of this case is a rape. So the judge is ruling whether or not that allegation is true. But the standard of proof in this civil case, it's not beyond reasonable doubt. It's on the balance of probabilities. And that means in simple terms that the court is satisfied that it's more likely than not that Brittany Higgins was raped. And that's what the judge is deciding and telling us today. Justice Michael Lee on deciding whether or not truth is a defence is taking us through the credibility of witnesses. So he's looking at the credibility of Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins.

Sally Sara: Have there been any criticisms of witnesses or parties to this defamation case so far?

Rachel Hayter: Yes. So Justice Lee has said that he's satisfied that in important respects, Bruce Lehrmann told deliberate lies and that he has no compunction about departing from the truth if he thought it was expedient. He said to describe Mr Lehrmann as a poor witness would be an understatement. One of the examples of Mr Lehrmann's dishonesty the judge gave was his inconsistency in denying that he found Miss Higgins alluring, saying that his attraction for her was just like the attraction he could feel for anyone in the courtroom. And Justice Lee said that he found that disconcerting and unconvincing. He also said that he's satisfied Mr Lehrmann made false representations about how Seven got material it used in the program, that interview that Bruce Lehrmann gave to Channel Seven, that exclusive interview. On Brittany Higgins' credibility, Justice Lee said he's conscious giving evidence would have been daunting and stressful and that some of her unreliability was compromised by her mental state due to trauma. He said her conduct in 2019 was not inconsistent with the conduct of a genuine victim of sexual assault. He said that nuance is required when assessing Brittany Higgins' evidence. But he also said that in 2021, Miss Higgins had established a broader narrative and that with the help of her boyfriend, she tried to develop an account that made her look better in the eyes of others. And that made her an unreliable and complex witness. This 324 page judgment is still being handed down. There was a long pause because of technical issues. The judge using interesting language saying that because of the unexpected detours and collateral damage of this case, it might be more fittingly described as an omni shambles. And at that moment, the live feed cut out. It's now going again and that judgment is still being handed down, Sally.

Sally Sara: That's Rachel Hayter. You're listening to The World Today. And remember, you can also listen to the program as a podcast online. The United Nations Secretary-General says the Middle East is on the brink of a devastating full-scale conflict and has called for an immediate de-escalation. Iran's weekend drone attacks on Israel has taken what's been known as a shadow war firmly out of the shadows and made direct conflict between the two countries a possibility. US President Joe Biden has told the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would not take part in any action against Iran.Rachel Meely reports.

Rachel Mealey : The late night session at the UN Security Council was another forum for a fiery confrontation between Israel and Iran. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged maximum restraint.

Antonio Guterres : The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Now is the time for maximum restraint.

Rachel Mealey : The call comes after Iran sent dozens of exploding drones and missiles to attack Israel. Gilad Erdan is Israel's ambassador to the UN.

Gilad Erdan : This attack crossed every red line and Israel reserves the legal right to retaliate. We are not a frog in boiling water. We are a nation of lions. Following such a massive and direct attack on Israel, the entire world, let alone Israel, cannot settle for inaction. We will defend our future.

Rachel Mealey : He called for the Security Council to take severe action against Iran, including sanctions and condemnation, but stopped short of direct retaliation.

Gilad Erdan : No more red carpet treatment here at the UN. No more appeasement. Today the Council must take action. Condemn Iran for their terror, trigger the snapback mechanism and re-impose crippling sanctions, designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organisation. Action must be taken now, not for Israel's sake, not for the region's sake, but for the world's sake.

Rachel Mealey : In response, Iran's ambassador, Amir Saeid Irravani, told the Council Iran has an inherent right to self-defence. He called out the US and its allies, claiming those countries did nothing in response to Israel's armed attack on an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria, where top commanders were killed.

Amir Saeid  Iravani: At the same time, they shamefully justified the Israeli massacre and genocide against the defenceless Palestinian people under the pretext of self-defence.

Rachel Mealey : Israel strongly rejects claims it's committing genocide. Ambassador Irravani says Iran doesn't seek a war with the US, but if it's attacked, it will respond.

Amir Saeid  Iravani: If the US initiate military operation against Iran, its citizens or its security and interests, Iran will use its inherent right to respond proportionately.

Rachel Mealey : The US President Joe Biden is believed to have told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his country will not support a counter-attack. At the UN, the US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said Iran would be held responsible for any further military action against Israel or its allies.

Robert Wood : The Security Council must unequivocally condemn Iran's aggressive actions and call for Iran and its partners and proxies to cease their attacks.

Sally Sara: That's the US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood, ending that report from Rachel Mealey. So how significant are the direct Iranian strikes on Israel and could they lead to a wider conflict? For us, Maksad is senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Firas Maksad: They are unprecedented. It has never happened before that Iran directly struck Israel. Iran has a very well established preference for using proxy warfare. Hezbollah in Lebanon, militants from Syria and Iraq, Houthi rebels in Yemen to take the fight indirectly to Israel. So the fact that this is a direct attack definitely poses a danger and is a new threshold that's been crossed.

Sally Sara: Why do you think Iran decided for a direct rather than a proxy attack this time?

Firas Maksad: Well, Iran has also been on the receiving end of several unclaimed Israeli attacks, targeted assassinations. Some have taken place over the past couple of years within Iranian territory, targeting its scientists, its nuclear scientists and those working on its nuclear program. But others have taken place in Syria and Damascus. So there has been a dire need on behalf of Iran to re-establish deterrence, to thwart Israel, make it pay a price for these actions so that they don't continue to repeat. And so this time around, given the fact that Israel had practically flattened Iran's consulate in Damascus 12 days ago, the Iranian regime made the calculus, the decision that the attack had to be a direct one.

Sally Sara: For us, there is obviously a strategic element to what has unfolded on the weekend. But there's also the matter of capability. We've seen what Iran is capable of and we've seen Israel's Iron Dome defence system in action and this combined defence from a number of forces, including the US, the UK, France and regional allies as well. What does it tell us about the capabilities of Iran and Israel in this kind of situation?

Firas Maksad: Well, there's a lot of information and disinformation out there. But if it is true that Iran had to fire north of 300 projectiles, more than 100 ballistic missiles and have 99 percent, according to Israeli sources, of them intercepted, it doesn't say much about Iran's capability. The fact that the defence was so robust, so multi-layered, not only just on behalf of Israel, but really the CENTCOM, the Central Command Area of Operation, and led by the United States. That requires the United States, Israel, but also some of these regional countries to work together to thwart such a complex attack. And so one of the big takeaways, militarily speaking, is the fact that this defensive operation proved highly successful.

Sally Sara: Does Iran want a regional conflict?

Firas Maksad: I don't believe so. I think that, ironically, is something that they and the Biden administration very much share. Both parties have been very clear over the six months since the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians began that they don't want to see that conflict spread and metastasise in the region. The Iranians understand that they are in no shape, again, to take on the United States and Israel directly. They want to keep this contained and have it be an indirect conflict that continues to drag on.

Sally Sara: That's Firas Maksad, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. 

The second independent inquiry into Star Entertainment's suitability to hold its New South Wales casino licence is underway in Sydney. The probe was called after the state's independent casino commission said that Star wasn't moving quickly enough to reform the business after evidence the company turned a blind eye to money laundering and poor governance at the board and management level. The ABC's senior business correspondent Peter Ryan is covering the Star inquiry. Peter, good afternoon. Can you just explain why this second inquiry was established?

Peter Ryan: Well, hi Sally. The first inquiry into Star concluded that the casino group had set up an inherently deceptive and unethical process to get its house in order. So a special external manager, Nicholas Weeks, was appointed to run the casino back in October 2022 as part of the reform plan. Now, given evidence that Star had not been managing its money laundering responsibilities properly, also dealing with so-called junketts to attract high rollers and a board with their eye off the ball, the first inquiry took an extremely dim view of Star. So is Star suitable to run its Sydney casino? Counselling assisting the inquiry, Casper Conde, said that would depend on a number of factors including character, honesty and integrity. Late last year, Sally, the corporate regulator ASIC commenced civil proceedings against 11 current and former directors of Star and so far Star has paid $150 million in fines.

Sally Sara: And Peter, there have been extraordinary claims that Star's chairman had been spying on the special manager. Can you tell me more about that?

Peter Ryan: Well, Sally, these are certainly sensational claims about Star's sensitivity to the appointment of that special manager, the external manager, Nicholas Weeks. Counselling assisting Casper Conde referred to an email subpoenaed as evidence from Star chairman David Foster to the then CEO Robbie Cook that the company could have an opportunity to get rid of the special manager, Nicholas Weeks. Mr Weeks told the inquiry he could only assume Star's managers had been spying on his diary ahead of a special meeting with New South Wales casino regulators. Mr Conde read the contents of an email to the inquiry.

Casper Conde: OK, they are prepping for war. We better do the same. Should we talk to and then there's a name of a lawyer from KWN. Do you see that?

Nicholas Weeks: I do.

Casper Conde: Then the message continues. We are meeting Monday to get ready for war, though. First of all, these messages that I've shown you, Mr Weeks, are all dated 31 January 2024. But you said your meeting was the next day on 1 February. Do you have any comment on that?

Nicholas Weeks: Well, I expect that somehow they've accessed my diary, which the entry would have been in ahead of the 1 February meeting.

Sally Sara: That's Star's special manager, Nicholas Weeks, being questioned by Councillor Sistine Casper-Conde. That was our senior business correspondent, Peter Ryan, there. 

Sally Sara: Finally today, we've been told that healthy living and keeping your brain active are some of the best ways to reduce the risk of dementia. But it could also come down to where you live. Research out of Melbourne has found that living in an area with green spaces and low crime can reduce your risk of dementia. Angus Randall reports.

Angus Randall: Quitting smoking, staying fit and doing Sudoku, all ways to reduce your risk of dementia. Your dementia risk could also come down to how close you live to a park.

Matthew Pase: So to see that green space or living closer to green space was associated with having fewer dementia risk factors wasn't necessarily surprising.

Angus Randall: Associate Professor Matthew Pase is from the Turner Institute at Monash University. He studied more than 3,000 people across the country, looking at their local crime statistics and how walkable their suburb was. He found the further away you are from green spaces, the higher the risk of dementia.

Angus Randall: People living closer to parks might find the time to go out and exercise more, they might find the time to go out and socialise and being socially active is also protective against dementia.

Angus Randall: There are many dementia risk factors connected to an unhealthy lifestyle. Smoking, heart disease and high blood pressure all increase your chances of dementia. Matthew Pase can understand why those in areas with poor green spaces and a high crime risk may decide against an evening walk.

Matthew Pase: You know, we can have messaging around things that individuals should do to reduce their risk of dementia. But if an individual lives in an area where it's not particularly attractive to go out and exercise or there might be high crime in that neighbourhood and they don't feel safe, I think governments need to consider, well, what things could they do, what policies could they implement to make it more likely for people to go out and actually take some ownership for their health and do the things we know are beneficial.

Angus Randall: Last year, a study of nearly 62 million older Americans found green spaces could reduce the risk of dementia. The link appears to be clear. So what can we do about it? Eva Ricci is from the Green Space Alliance in Western Australia.

Eva Ricci: It should be connecting spaces, so, you know, parks that go from one cul-de-sac through to another cul-de-sac, if you like. Somewhere that they connect through. You're in a community, partaking with other people. It's like all of us, we're supposed to be connected, it's as simple as that.

Angus Randall: She says in her experience, wealth remains a major barrier.

Eva Ricci: I come from Perth, love, and the western suburbs are all beautiful and green and lots of trees and larger blocks and all of that, you know, and then you go out into the outlying lower socioeconomic areas and we've got no water, you can't irrigate because, you know, it's seven months, no rain, you've got water restrictions and, you know, people are living inside their homes and not outside their homes.

Angus Randall: Research shows 40% of dementia is preventable and keeping the brain active plays a major role. Associate Professor Michael Woodward is an Honorary Medical Advisor for Dementia Australia and Head of Dementia Research at the University of Melbourne.

Matthew Pase: It certainly seems to me that people know that if they keep mentally and physically active and eat a good diet, it's going to be helpful for their brain in general. Their heart is probably the greater focus of attention, but the good news is generally what's good for our heart is also good for our brain.

Sally Sara: Some good advice there. Associate Professor Michael Woodward from the University of Melbourne, ending that report from Angus Randall. That's all from the World Today team. Thanks for your company. I'm Sally Sara.