The PM, Anthony Albanese, was speaking live from Hobart a short while ago. Asked if he will convene national cabinet following the Melbourne synagogue fire, Albanese said “people don’t want a meeting, they want action”. A 34-year-old man from New South Wales appeared in court, charged over allegedly entering the grounds of the East Melbourne Hebrew congregation on Albert Street at about 8pm on Friday, pouring a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and setting it on fire. Asked if he would consider a taskforce, the prime minister said “we have a taskforce”: What we do is take on security issues. We take advice from security agencies. That’s precisely what we have done. Pushed on whether he would provide more money for CCTV and guards outside Jewish schools and places of worship, the prime minister said: I spoke with Jewish community leaders on Saturday. Every time there has been a request, it has been met, expeditiously. On Saturday, one of the reasons why this gentleman has been caught so quickly is because the CCTV that was in place there was as a direct result of commonwealth government funding. In addition to that, the reinforcement of the door of the synagogue was done with that commonwealth security funding. We will respond. We will respond to any request constructively. That is what we have done.
