NSW Premier Mike Baird & Governor David Hurley Thank Emergency Personnel At Government House

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird and Governor David Hurley personally expressed gratitude to emergency services workers who responded to the Sydney Siege in December. The premier and the governor met the workers for a thank-you morning tea at the Government House.

More than a hundred paramedics, fire crews, SES workers and police officers gathered on the Government House lawns. They observed a minute's silence for the Martin Place siege victims. The survivors as well as the hostages who had been killed were remembered. Baird said that the "incredible actions" of fire crew, paramedics and police officers reminded people of what the emergency services were capable of. He appreciated that the emergency workers had put their lives in danger during the Sydney Siege. "So whilst we saw in those hours the worst of humanity I strongly believe that what followed was the best of humanity," ABC News quotes the Premier, "What we saw in those events was a reminder of how lucky we are as a state to have people like you that come to our aid and need at the darkest hours."

NSW Governor David Hurley was also present during the thank you ceremony. He said that the emergency workers had trained "long and hard" so that they could perform in such situations. While he hoped that such situations should never happen again, he said that it would be foolish to think of a guarantee of the outcome of such events. A "big machine" came together very quickly during the events at the Lindt Café in December.

He said that the emergency workers should be proud of themselves because of the way they had performed during the siege. Hurley said that some would go through the experience and come out the other side without been touched by it emotionally, while others would think about it. However, he said that it would be unwise to think that anyone could save themselves on their own. Nobody is immune from any adverse effects from an incident like the siege, he said.

Baird called the Martin Place siege as the darkest hour of the country. He said that Australians had come through the test when their freedom was challenged. Some people may try to take away the freedom of the Australian people but will never be successful in take away the values, he said.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au