00:02Assistant Police Commissioner Adrian Bodnar thought he'd parked a lot of what he saw at
00:07Port Arthur in 1996, one of Tasmania's darkest days when 35 people were killed, including
00:15children. But he told the Hillcrest inquest, reviewing police body-worn camera footage of
00:21the scene at the primary school on December 16, 2021, brought the memories back. Becoming
00:27tearful, he said, I think anything to do with children is clearly devastating and it just goes
00:33to show the trauma doesn't go away. Whilst the incidents are different, the trauma is still the
00:39same. Six children died and three were seriously injured when the gust of wind lifted the jumping
00:45castle from the school oval. Assistant Commissioner Bodnar said it's cost almost $8 million in workers
00:52compensation and ongoing medical care and caused some officers to leave their jobs.
00:57Mis-identification has emerged as an issue during this hearing. Assistant Commissioner Bodnar said
01:04it was clearly concerning that parents were told their child had passed away when they hadn't.
01:09But he could see how mistakes were made amid the chaos and emotion. He also responded to Georgie
01:15Burt, who said she was forced to wait three days before seeing the body of her son, Zane
01:20Malaw, saying, on behalf of Tasmania police, I would like to sincerely apologise to Georgina
01:27for the fact that she didn't have the opportunity to spend time with her son like other families did.
01:32In his final remarks, Assistant Commissioner Bodnar addressed the victims' families, telling them
01:38officers did everything they could to save the children and how saddened he was that they
01:44couldn't do more. His voice cracking as he spoke. The inquest will resume in November.
