CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
South-West Sydney remains on edge today, after a religiously motivated attack on a local preacher earlier this week.
Assyrian church leader, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was delivering a sermon Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on Monday night, when a 16-year-old allegedly advanced down the aisle and stabbed him multiple times.
The attack took place during a live-streamed church service, as horrified worshippers watched online and in person, and sparked a riot in the surrounding streets.
The bishop stabbed has today spoken to the media, and assured his community that he’s “doing fine” and has forgiven his attacker – as he urges his followers to act in peace.
However, following in the footsteps of Redfern and Cronulla, the tense situation in the South-West has the potential to evolve into something much bigger – as the Australian media stirs the pot with sensationalised headlines and antagonistic commentary.
With religious leaders calling for calm in the community and police on the streets, now, more than ever, is the time for politicians to step up.
This pressure cooker scenario will be a test for Albanese’s leadership, even though Labor no longer has a presence in this part of New South Wales.
But still, as a Prime Minister for ALL Australians, it is Albo’s responsibility to help resolve these community tensions as best he can.
It’s for this reason that former NSW Premier and unsuccessful former Federal Labor candidate for South-West Sydney, Kristina Keneally, has been dispatched to these same troubled streets that she had hoped to represent in Parliament.
The PM’s Office says there is nobody more suited to the job of stepping in and managing the healing process – as this community attempts to overcome a flare up in highly complicated and ancient ethno-religious tensions that have kicked off this week.
After a comically arrogant parachuting into pre-selection, Keneally was unsuccessful in her efforts to use the highly multicultural working class enclave as a springboard into Canberra – instead losing to the Independent challenger Dai “The Vietnamese Bob Katter” Le – who is actually a local resident.
However, despite losing fair and square in her campaign to become the local member for Fowler, this has not stopped Keneally from serving this community that she obviously cares so much about – even outside of election cycles.
“We’re sending in Kristina” said Albo.
“Only she, with her immigrant intuition and cross-cultural sensitivities, is able to foster peace within this community”
