Perth Invasion Day Terror: Col Blanch urges Lydia Thorpe to ‘release it now’ after claims about attack intel

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch says Federal Senator Lydia Thorpe should “release it now” if she has any information that authorities had been warned ahead of a possible attack on protesters at Perth’s Invasion Day rally. The Independent Senator claimed she had seen an Australian Security Intelligence Organisation dossier “clearly articulating the probable likelihood of an attack”, but Mr Blanch reiterated on Friday there was no such warning for Australia Day in Perth. “I have not read any intelligence that a specific attack was planned for January 26 in Perth in Forrest Place. If one exists, and Senator Thorpe has seen it, release it now. And if you do have it, why didn’t you warn the police or the community?”, Mr Blanch said. “As well as the attendees at the rally, my officers were at risk. They walked over at that time (to) what they believed to be a bomb, which it turned out it was, to protect our community, putting their lives at risk, potentially having their last shift.” Speaking after the botched bomb attack on January 26 was declared a terrorist act, Mr Blanch also said he understood the fear in the Aboriginal community and police would continue to work closely with future First Nations event organisers. “The police attendance and engagement with organisers is more than it’s ever been before,” he said. “But someone who acts alone with no police or any other intelligence . . . and throws a bomb from an upper level, is very, very difficult to detect and prevent. Mr Blanch said a lack of intelligence about the alleged Invasion Day bomber drives home concerns about self-radicalisation, and has urged members of the public to report suspicious activity. It will be alleged the man was self-radicalised and involved online access to “pro-white male, pro-white material”. Mr Blanch said a strong police presence at the rally ensured the alleged 31-year-old attacker was arrested quickly, but said police would look to learn from the first terror attack on WA soil with a focus on early intervention to prevent radicalisation. “(Online radicalisation) is something that we are all concerned about because of the lack of information and intelligence . . . police may not know, intelligence agencies may not know, but someone does,” he said. “Whether it’s parents, friends, other service providers, other government departments. Someone knows people are radicalising in their lives. So if you tell authorities, at least we’ve got a chance to intervene.” The alleged bomber will face court again on February 17. Mr Blanch said a suppression order put in place by the court was in relation to his safety, and it was up to the court if it was continued beyond his next appearance. Premier Roger Cook met with the organisers of the event on Thursday. In a letter to the Premier sent during their meeting the group welcomed the terror charge, but asked for a further meeting to discuss wider changes. “The incident must be formally investigated and publicly treated as a hate crime,” it read. “Expand the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Antisemitism to cover all forms of racism and far right extremism. “Urgently endorse and implement the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Anti-Racism Framework. “Establish an independent mechanism with diverse representation to conduct investigations into government department’s decisions, actions and policies, similar to the model recently passed in the ACT.” They also wanted further support for truth-telling and Aboriginal language revitalisation and a dedicated phone number for mental health support for anyone affected by the alleged terror attack. On Thursday, WA’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team said investigations have shown the incident was ideologically driven and Mr Cook said there were allegations of a “hateful, racist ideology”.