Editorial: Sydney siege brings terror close to home

An armed policeman is seen on Philip St walking towards Martin Place during the hostage situation at Lindt Cafe in Sydney. Photo / AP

Hostage-takers are no more than deluded criminals.

Could it happen here? That is a question to haunt this country whatever the outcome of the hostage crisis in Sydney yesterday. Some will say it is less likely to happen here because unlike Australia, New Zealand is not taking part in the air strikes containing the advance of the would-be Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. But if this jihadist band has appeal on the internet to all sorts of angry and alienated attention seekers, there is no reason it could not happen here.

At least one armed man appeared to be inside the Lindt cafe holding customers and staff hostage. It might have been one of a number of co-ordinated attacks - the Opera House was cleared after a suspicious device was noticed there - but one or two gunmen in a cafe can make all the impact they desire.

Speaking on television, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the purpose of these things is to scare people, but it is more than that. In the twisted minds of so-called "terrorists" they are seeking attention for their cause. They terrify those they use to attract attention; their captives in the cafe were seen shaking and sobbing as some of them were forced to hold a jihadist banner at the window. But the rest of the community is not terrorised. It is simply disgusted in the same way as it is by any threat to kill.

Political violence differs from ordinary crime only in its attention seeking. It would not have been by chance that its target yesterday was a cafe in the central business district directly opposite the offices of one of Australia's main television news networks, Channel 7.

Nearby in Martin Place were the New South Wales state Premier's office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, Westpac Bank and the Commonwealth Bank headquarters and the United States consulate. The Supreme Court, Sydney Hospital and the state Parliament were not far away.

It is the kind of neighbourhood where an incident such as this immediately raises fears that the culprits may be equipped with explosives and have a larger target in mind. A chocolate cafe may not be an impressive target in itself but the location of this one caused street closures and lockdowns of the buildings around it, multiplying the impact on banking, business and the state Government.

But not the federal Government, Mr Abbott assured the country. It was going ahead to announce its fiscal update as scheduled. Odd as that sounded, it was worth saying. Political criminals should not be given the satisfaction of undivided attention. They warrant the urgent attention of police armed offenders squads and skilled negotiators to secure the hostages, nobody else. Governments should be kept well away, especially from bargaining for hostages.

The Government's role is to ensure police and intelligence agencies have the training, equipment and resources to deal with these incidents. They need more than the wisdom of hindsight. Every terrorist target seems an obvious one after the event, and each leads to precautions against a repeat.

Accessible public places such as coffee shops near television stations and state buildings are going to be more closely monitored after this.

But these places cannot be constantly guarded. If a sick and murderous individual is determined to capture his country's attention by taking hostages and shielding himself from police marksmen for as long as he can, little can be done to prevent him. But he ought to know that in this part of the world governments do not bargain with terrorists and the public is not terrorised. They are seen as common criminals distinguished only by delusions of importance.

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