Failed Perth Bomb Attack To Be Recast As Mental Health Conversation We All Need To Have

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

A failed bomb attack in the Perth's CBD is set to be reinterpreted this week as a broader national conversation about mental health, after authorities confirmed the device allegedly thrown into a crowd was designed to seriously injure or kill people, but ultimately didn't go off.

WA Police allege the device, which was found near an Invasion Day demonstration on Australia Day, contained a combination of chemicals and metal fragments, and had the potential to cause mass casualties. The incident prompted the evacuation of the area and the involvement of counter-terrorism units, though no terrorism charges have been laid.

Instead, officials and commentators have urged Australians to approach the incident with empathy, cautioning against the use of "loaded language" and "victim blaming" while investigators continue to assess the alleged offender's motivation.

Media outlets were quick to stress that no ideology has yet been identified, and that the accused individual was not previously known to police, paving the way for the incident to be framed as a tragic mental health episode rather than an act of domestic terrorism.

Experts appearing across breakfast television and drive radio this morning encouraged the public to "sit with the discomfort" of the situation, noting that the presence of explosives, a public crowd and a clear risk to life should not distract from the importance of compassion and not being weak and speak to your mates about wanting to chuck bombs into crowds of people because you don't like what they say.

"We need to be very careful about labels," said one commentator, adding that while the device was allegedly capable of killing people, the real focus should be on how society supports blokes before they reach this point.

Police have confirmed the man has been charged with serious offences relating to endangering life and possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances and that further charges remain possible pending ongoing investigations.

At time of publication, the incident had also been earmarked for at least four panel discussions, a long-form explainer and a week of opinion columns urging Australians to reflect on what this moment says about themselves. And a Royal Commission. Maybe.

The Australian media's insistence on appointing Pauline Hanson as the only alternative to Albanese has resulted in immediate and violent repercussions, as white supremacists feel more emboldened than ever by the dangerously extreme rhetoric that is now being normalised by ambulance-chasing journalists that have given up on Sussan Ley's Federal Opposition

More to come.