An unsung hero of the Bondi Junction stabbing attack is being recognised with the prime minister confirming the injured Pakistani security guard will be offered a permanent visa.
Security guard Muhammad Taha was taken to hospital after confronting attacker Joel Cauchi during his stabbing rampage on Saturday, which killed six people.
While French construction worker Damien Guerot – who was also dubbed “bollard man” after footage emerged of him holding back the attacker – was offered a permanent visa for his heroics, Mr Taha had questioned whether he should be extended a similar offer for his efforts.
“Similarly, as a direct victim of the incident, I believe I deserve recognition and consideration for citizenship,” he told The Australian.
The newspaper reported that Mr Taha is in Australia on a graduate visa due to expire.
Asked whether a similar offer of citizenship or visa would be put to Mr Taha, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the move.
“These are people who were putting … themselves in danger in order to protect Australians they didn’t know – just people going about, doing their shopping,” he told 5AA Adelaide on Thursday.
“That’s the sort of courage that we want to say thank you to, frankly.”
Mr Albanese also confirmed a permanent visa would be issued to Mr Guerot.
“There was extraordinary stories of bravery amongst the carnage and tragedy that we saw on Saturday,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton extolled Mr Guerot’s virtues and supported the prime minister’s offer to the Frenchman.
“He didn’t need to do that, he didn’t need to be here – it’s not his country,” he told 2GB Sydney.
“The acts of strangers helping other people they’ve never met before and putting their own lives at risk … they’re pretty heroic acts.
“We want people of good character coming to our country.”
However, Mr Dutton did not extend the same level of support to Mr Taha.
“That’s obviously an issue for the prime minister,” he said while visiting the scene of the Bondi attack.
“At the moment the focus is on those who lost their lives and those who are recovering and I think any other matter can be dealt with in due course.”
Mr Taha’s colleague Faraz Tahir, who was killed in the incident, has been remembered by his community.
“He tried his best to save the life of others – in that respect we consider him a hero,” Inamul Haq Kauser from Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Australia said.
“He was the first actually, who gave his life for the safety of Australians.
“He never thought in this peaceful country this is going to happen.”
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![Teacher Vanessa Jones has been living in Higgins since 2001, and while she loves the area, she says she is “fed up” with the neglectful ACT government.
The Higgins shops have been completely abandoned, says Vanessa, preventing the opportunity for residents to have a community-centred space to socialise.
They only received bins nine months ago, she says, and requests for a water station and repairs to the bus station have gone unanswered.
“It’s very, very slow,” says Vanessa.
“I asked for the zebra crossing on Fullagar [Crescent] to be repainted, and we had to wait about six or nine months.
“That’s just such a long time… we pay a lot of rates.”
Vanessa says assistance from the government only seems to go to communities with time-rich and assertive communities, leaving places such as Higgins, where the majority of households have both adults working full-time and English may not be the first language of the family, at an automatic disadvantage.
“If you’ve got two people working, paying a mortgage, raising two or three kids, they don’t have the time,” says Vanessa.
Vanessa says the lack of attention quieter places such as Higgins is receiving is starting to look a lot like favouritism.
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