Excerpt:
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attacked the “lame excuse” of blaming mental health problems for Friday’s horrific attack in Melbourne by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, after the killer’s family said he was “crying for help” and should not be the subject of a political game.
Mr Morrison said community leaders should accept the attack was due in part to “extreme Islam” that had radicalised Shire Ali, leading him to fatally stab restaurateur Sisto Malaspina, 74, and injure two others before being shot dead by police.
Mr Morrison rejected the idea that the Bourke Street attacker had mental health issues and was not “really a terrorist” and should be treated with some sympathy.
“I think that’s an excuse. This bloke, radicalised here in Australia with extreme Islam, took a knife and cut down a fellow Australian in Bourke Street,” Mr Morrison told the Ten Network.