Security guards wear new protective vests as Westfield Bondi Junction reopens
By Anthony Segaert
Security guards at Westfield shopping malls across Australia and New Zealand will be issued with zip-up protective vests following last Saturday’s Bondi Junction stabbing attack which killed six people.
Customers returning to Westfield Bondi Junction on Friday noticed security guards in their new stab-proof gear and admitted it was a “strange” feeling shopping where the attack took place. But, they said, the reopening is an important step in the community’s healing process.
Security guards at Westfield Bondi Junction wore protective vests in a new security initiative after Saturday’s attack.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“It’s an odd feeling,” said Chad Drinkwater, entering Bondi Westfield for the first time since the attacks as it reopened on Friday. “You can just sense that sombre feeling. I’m coming in today to check on a friend and get some shopping done as well.”
Mandy, a local shopper, said she had recently discovered she had been eating very close to where killer Joel Cauchi had been last eating before he began his attack and felt “an overwhelming sense of loss”.
“Going into Westfield has triggered me,” she said. “I thought I was going to be stoic [but] I’m feeling a little bit overwhelmed.”
Friday was the centre’s first day of public trading since the attack. Families of the six killed were invited to visit the scenes of the crimes on Wednesday, after police spent days combing the massive shopping centre for evidence following Joel Cauchi’s attack. The public were invited in for a day of reflection on Thursday.
Chad Drinkwater at Bondi Junction on Friday.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
The security officers walked through the centre in pairs, along with local police and mental health volunteers. Some stores had hired their own security guards, while others would not open until next week. A Scentre Group spokesperson said guards would be issued with vests “expeditiously”.
The noise of coffee machines and clanging plates slowly brought the shopping centre back to its regular feeling, as gentle piano music welcomed customers and staff members who entered early in the morning.
Black ribbons remained displayed on screens across the centre, and floral tributes and condolence books continued to be added on Level 4. The two bouquets of flowers in the window of the Chanel store, where two people were killed, remained in place.
Shoppers were warned by Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis that the reopening was “going to be very traumatic” for many staff members who had not returned to the site since last weekend.
Shoppers leave Bondi Junction Westfield on Friday.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“Remember that the retail workers are serving hundreds of people, and remember [to] be kind and gentle and compassionate,” she said on 2GB. “I don’t want to hear that these workers are being asked many times to relive their trauma.”
Michael Burge, director of the Australian College of Trauma Treatment, said people should be prepared to experience a wide array of emotions as they re-enter the centre.
“[People] will be a bit nervous and anxious,” he said. “It’s a natural human reaction when there’s been something that impacts on the entire community.
“It’s almost like a survival instinct, when someone from the tribe gets killed or hurt, the whole group reacts.
“For those shops and places that were directly exposed to those tragic events, those employers really need to be mindful of their duty of care and responsibility. Different [staff and shoppers] can react differently.”
Westfield Bondi Junction was open for a day of reflection on Thursday before it reopened for trade early on Friday.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos echoed concerns for retail workers’ welfare, encouraging shoppers to be “sensitive and respectful and compassionate”.
“They were the ones at the coalface,” she said. “Don’t try to talk with them about it unless they want to.”
The mayor also revealed every note and card left among the flowers would be taken to Waverley Library to be stored and collated.
“We’re going to be going through all the flowers, and picking all the messages, the cards, everything that people have left, and we’re going to be taking them to the library to look after them and keep them,” she said. “We want to make sure they are treated in a respectful way.”
The flowers will be collected early next week.
Plans are under way to establish a permanent memorial on the plaza, but Masselos said it would not occur for about two years as it needed to be done in consultation with families and the wider community.
Six people who were injured in the attack remained in Sydney hospitals on Friday. One female patient was in ICU in a serious but stable condition, while four other patients were stable.
The nine-month-old daughter of slain stabbing victim Ashlee Good was in a serious but stable condition at Sydney Children’s Hospital. Six others have been discharged in the past week.
As police continue their investigations into Cauchi’s attack, NSW Police investigators travelled to Queensland this week to interview people who knew him.
“We have sent investigators to Queensland to speak with his family and friends,” NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said early on Friday. “So there will be a lot of work yet to be done to really have a better picture of what might have been on his mind. Yet we may not really ever know.”
with Megan Gorrey
If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).
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