Alastair Clarkson has criticized Australia’s failure to tackle drug and alcohol-related violence following the Bondi Junction stabbing that shocked the nation.
The North Melbourne coach was visibly emotional on Sunday when asked about the horrific incident before his team’s game against Geelong.
Earlier in the day it had been revealed that one of the victims, Ashlee Good, was the daughter of former North Melbourne great Kerry Good.
The 38-year-old woman died hours after she and her daughter were stabbed in the shocking attack.
Ex-Roo’s daughter Ashlee Good killed in mass Bondi stabbing attack
Good’s family has confirmed that the baby is now “doing well” following emergency surgery.
Queenslander Joel Cauchi, 40, was responsible for the attack and was known to have mental problems and an obsession with knives.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said investigators will look into whether Cauchi was under the influence of drugs at the time of the attack.
Clarkson became emotional when discussing the tragedy, mentioning recent unrelated incidents in Victoria involving the deaths of Samantha Murphy and Hannah McGuire.
‘It’s difficult for the Good family to have to deal with that tragedy, obviously. “It’s difficult for all of us to face it,” he said.
To be fair, you’re just sick of this. We have three families in Ballarat grieving. The same thing happens to us after every one of them, drugs or alcohol, and yet as a society, as a government, we say: “Our fellow Australians, we are mourning our lost ones again.”
‘When is it really going to change? When are people really going to do something about this scourge of society that is drugs and alcohol?
‘The government is not doing anything about it to the extent that it should. Drugs are a problem in our sport and we don’t do enough about it and we should. And it is paralyzing society. And this is one of the best countries in the world, but we can do something about it. But we simply tolerate it and do not oppose it.
Queensland man Joel Cauchi (pictured) was shot dead by a lone female police officer after killing six people in Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday afternoon.
Clarkson (pictured) called for stricter laws against alcohol and drug-related violence
‘And then tragedies like this happen and it’s just… I really feel for everyone connected to this. I feel sorry for those families in Ballarat.
‘I spent three years in the Ballarat area as a child, going to school and to think that community, that beautiful, close-knit community, they are suffering too.
‘In this country, this should not happen like this. We need to do something about it. He is not a single person. There’s got to be a lot of people pushing… Our judicial system doesn’t… a lot of times they say, “Oh yeah, he was out on bail or on parole” or whatever. It just has to stop. It has to stop.
—That poor girl, Harriet, now without her mother. Ash Good was a very, very beautiful lady.
‘A bloody tragedy. A bloody tragedy.
Roos president Sonja Hood said the club was “tremendously saddened” by the incident in Bondi.
“Like all Australians, we were horrified to see the horrific details that emerged from Sydney on Saturday,” Hood said.
“Learning later that Ashlee and her daughter were victims of this tragedy really makes us feel that way.
Kerry Good played for North Melbourne in the VFL during the 1970s and 1980s.
‘Our thoughts and condolences go out to all those affected by the terrible events, especially Ashlee’s partner Daniel Flanagan, Kerry and Dian, Ashlee’s mother Denise, and Ashlee’s family and friends.
“Kerry and his family are incredibly important people in our club’s history and we offer them our love and support at an unimaginably difficult time.”
Good was well-known in the Melbourne community and a close friend of former Demons player Steve Febey, who posted a heartbreaking tribute to her on Sunday morning.
“I’m at a loss for words, absolutely devastated,” Febey posted on social media along with a series of photos of him and Good together.
‘I can’t understand how this could happen to the most amazing, beautiful, loving human being.
‘I will always cherish our friendship, our five stars and the great moments we shared. I will love you forever Ash xx.’