‘Changed lives': Revelation after Bondi attack
Some security staff still require counselling and haven't been able to return to work at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre following the 2024 stabbing rampage, an inquest has been told.
Joel Cauchi stabbed 16 people and killed Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13, 2024, before he was then shot dead by police.
A coronial inquest into the attack was told some security staff hadn't been able to return to work at the shopping centre following the tragedy.
The shopping centre is operated by Scentre Group, which uses subcontractors Falkon and Glad Group.
Glad chief executive Steve Iloski told the inquest that several staff had been affected by the attack and needed counselling and support from the Employee Assistance Program. Staff members have been unable to return to work at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre following the tragedy. NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia
He said Glad was doing 'everything in our power' to get them back on their feet.
'I take that quite serious,' Mr Iloski told the court.
'Our priority is the welfare of our staff … We had counselling services, financial aid that was acquired for the staff to continue actively in life in general.'
He paid tribute to security guard Mr Tahir, who was killed during his first day on the job at the shopping centre.
'That day changed lives, it took lives (in) the cruellest of circumstances,' Mr Iloski said.
'Faraz Tahir was clearly so loved by his family, friends, community, and I can confidently say that his loss …(has) been felt deeply across Glad Group and the security industry.'
He also extended his thoughts to Mr Tahir's family as well as the families of the five other victims and surviving security guard Muhammad Taha.
'You were injured trying to protect others … We owe you our deepest respect and gratitude,' he said. Security guard Faraz Tahir was killed during his first day working at the shopping centre. Supplied. Credit: Supplied
Mr Iloski said the tragedy had 'hit home' for him even though he wasn't present on the day.
'I really am sorry, what's happened on that day – it's heart wrenching,' he told the court.
'I've got young kids … it really hits home. As a leader, we've always taken security and safety as paramount.
'The team did the best they could, I don't think anything would've changed that day unfortunately.
'Mr Cauchi … his intent was very clear
'I'm very sorry, and we take this quite seriously.' Bondi stabbing victims (top l-r) Dawn Singleton, Ashlee Good, Cheng Yixuan, (bottom l-r) Faraz Tahir, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia. Credit: Supplied
The responses and policies of Scentre and Glad have been probed at length over the course of the inquest, which entered its fifth and final week on Monday morning.
This included the competency of the sole control room operator, who can only be known as CR1, rostered to the CCTV control room on the day of the attack.
The court was earlier told how she failed to answer questions related to an active armed offender on a competency checklist weeks before her training was signed off in January 2024 and how she went to the bathroom 40 seconds before Cauchi stabbed his first victim, leaving the room unmonitored. Joel Cauchi stabbed 16 people, killing six, before he was shot dead. Supplied. Credit: Supplied
Cauchi had attacked eight people by the time she re-entered, with all 16 people stabbed by the time another security employee (known as CR2) entered the room about 3.36pm.
Security expert Scott Wilson told the court that he didn't feel CR1 performed her job adequately on the day.
Public announcements were also not made until about 20 minutes after the first victim was stabbed. When they were finally made about 3.52pm, they were done from a room external to the CCTV control room, and people were unsure whether the person making them (CR1) was under duress as she sounded 'distressed and distraught', the court was told.
An automated PA system had since been put in place at the shopping centre, along with a raft of other measures, the court was told.
Mr Iloski told the court that the inquest has been 'very valuable', and while some of the evidence had been 'hard' for team members, scrutiny was important.
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Security guards who want to work in the CCTV control room at Westfield Bondi Junction will now have to pass a more rigorous suitability assessment, the coronial inquest has heard. On April 13, 2024, Joel Cauchi was fatally shot after killing six and injuring 10 people with a knife during a rampage at the shopping centre in Sydney's east. At the exact minute Cauchi stabbed his first victim, the sole security guard in the Westfield control room left for the bathroom, leaving the CCTV screens not monitored. The female security guard, referred to as CR1, has not given evidence during the hearing. The NSW Coroners Court previously heard a need for CR1 to have further training was identified prior to the attack, and an independent security expert criticised her for not having the "skill set" for the role. The court previously heard that Westfield procedure now dictates there must be an operator in the control room at all times. Steve Iloski is the chief executive of Glad Group — the subcontractor which Westfield's parent company Scentre uses to recruit security staff. He agreed on Monday there was a "lost opportunity" to immediately start reviewing CCTV due to the room being unoccupied, which impacted the timeliness of the response. In response to last April's incident, the court heard that Glad Group had rolled out new training, including pressure tests to see how prospective staff responded under stress. Mr Iloski said the selection process for the CCTV control room had been strengthened to assess how "suitable" the employees were in emergency situations. Individuals must now have worked on site for three months minimum, undertake a "comprehensive" questionnaire and pass a simulated environmental situation to "evoke emotions or evoke stress and see how they respond". The court heard that it was difficult to attract and maintain security staff after the stabbing but the team has been "settled since August". Issues with recruiting CCTV control room operators towards the end of 2023 and into early 2024 had also been now resolved, Mr Iloski said. "[The guards are] very competent with the new training and enhancements and we'll continued to improve and get better." He acknowledged that some, including CR1, had not returned and "remain unfit to do so" but that the company was supporting them financially. "We're trying everything in our power to ensure those individuals get back on their feet," he said. "Glad Group lost one of our people, Faraz Tahir. I want to recognise his family and the dignity and compassion they have shown through this process." He said that while the incident was "once in a lifetime" it "changed our world". "The team did the best they could," he said, later acknowledging that some of the testimony had been "hard" for staff to hear. "Scrutiny is an important part of this inquest … this inquest is about learning."
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