Thousands of revellers gathered at Sydney’s popular spots to bid farewell to 2025 and watch the display of fireworks even as Australia remains on edge in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
More than 2,500 officers, both in uniform and plain clothes, have been deployed on patrols, with some carrying long-arm firearms in a rare sight for Sydney.
Communal tensions have been rife in Australia after 15 people were killed and dozens more were injured when gunmen opened fire on a crowd of more than 1,000 celebrating the Jewish holiday Hanukkah in Bondi’s Archer Park on 14 December.
Accused Naveed Akram faces 59 charges, while his father, Sajid, was shot dead by police at the scene.
New South Wales (NSW) premier Chris Minns has called on people to attend the traditional fireworks at Sydney Harbour to “thumb our nose at the terrorists and their ideology”.
In a statement, he said: “We need to show defiance in the face of this evil and the best way of doing that is to spend some time with your friends and your family on New Year’s Eve on Sydney Harbour”.
He added: “Families will see a different type of policing operation this New Year’s Eve. It’s not normally the case that NSW police officers have long-arm guns.
“That is a clear and deliberate message from the police that safety is the No 1 priority and they will be acutely aware and alert for any threats affecting the people of this state.”
More than one million revellers crowd the waterfront each year to see a world-famous fireworks display centered on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Mr Minns said he was concerned that any reduction in crowd numbers would be interpreted by extremists as a victory.
The premier added that the state was not moving towards a more militarised police force in response to the attack, however, the high-visibility policing was designed to make people feel safer.
“Given we’ve just had the worst terrorism event in Australia’s history inside the last month, it would be self-evidently the case that things need to change and the security needs to change,” Mr Minns said.
“I understand that there’ll be some people that oppose this or regard it as the militarisation of the police. My sense is far more families would fully support that kind of police operation because they will feel far safer in that environment,” Mr Minns added.
Sney’s lord mayor Clover Moore said the victims of the attack would be commemorated at 11pm on New Year’s Eve with a minute’s silence and images of a Jewish menorah projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s pylons.
Local government authorities had planned to project images of a dove with the word “peace,” but that was changed after consultation with Jewish representatives.
“I continue to listen to the community to ensure the acknowledgement of the horrific attack at Bondi Beach during New Year’s Eve is appropriate,” Mr Moore said in statement.
