Are all of our Australian members safe?

[MoonCat]

Hostage situation going on in Sydney...

Could our Oz members check in?

[DeltaSierra]

Hoping everyone is safe, and that the situation is quickly dealt with, with no loss of life to the hostages.

[Latekin]

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/lindt-choc...15-1278cx.html
All of the updates since it's started.

I'm all good. I'm on the opposite side of the country from this event.

[bhskittykatt]

Scary. Hope everything gets resolved with positive outcomes.

[Latekin]

Scary is right. I had absolutely no idea what was going on until I got online this morning. Housemate messaged me through FB to tell me some serious stuff was going down in Sydney.

[aulocksmith]

Live coverage by ABC News 24: http://www.abc.net.au/news/abcnews24/

Hopefully, our overseas members can see it. Scary stuff, so glad I'm in melbourne. Definitely hoping for the best for the poor people trapped in that situation.

[dawnfire]

I'm with aulocksmith being glad I'm in Melbourne. It's scary.

[fireheart]

I'm in sydney. Sorry I didn't check in sooner guys, I was unable to get home since I stupidly left my keys at work.

Both my SO and I are fine. He was too far southeastish of where the siege is taking place and I do not work anywhere near the CBD, nor did I visit it today. The only real changes to either of us was that I had more parents picking up their sproglets earlier than usual because the parents had been working in the exclusion zone (or near it).
I got a phone call from my mum and a text from my dad. I then went and facebooked my status so I didn't get a call from my Future mother in law as well. (We get along fine)
We kept having to spell the word though so we didn't freak out the kids.

Last I've heard, five hostages have escaped the situation.
Also I should add that I don't know what you guys have been hearing, but the guy is just a nut job fundamentalist. He has no relation to ISIL or any other thing and it's already come out that he has been disowned by the Islamic community. Of course this hasn't stopped the media playing up the Islam angle.

[BlackCat]

I'm up in Brisbane and fine. Glad to hear you and your family are fine Fireheart.

[fireheart]

I'm up in Brisbane and fine. Glad to hear you and your family are fine Fireheart.

My family is in Adelaide. It's just me and my SO in Sydney.

I care for kids as part of my job. We were put on "lockdown" which basically translated to "Do what you do already"

[Mishi]

Glad you're okay Fireheart! I'm up in Queensland, so I'm fine too. Hope everyone makes it out okay.

[Seshat]

Melbourne here. Well out of the fanatic's range.

[fireheart]

The one thing that I am grateful for at the moment is that the media is actually portraying the community that this nutjob is likely to be associated with as condemning the nutjob. They're holding a candlelight vigil outside a mosque. It's a multifaith association.
Nearly every group in said community has condemned this guy outright in the media. Those that haven't are contacting the police and other groups involved in the situation and asking what they can do to help.

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

H i everyone, all is good on my end, I'm in Melbourne. Praying for everyone's safety in Sydney

[Latekin]

The one thing that I am grateful for at the moment is that the media is actually portraying the community that this nutjob is likely to be associated with as condemning the nutjob. They're holding a candlelight vigil outside a mosque. It's a multifaith association.
Nearly every group in said community has condemned this guy outright in the media. Those that haven't are contacting the police and other groups involved in the situation and asking what they can do to help.

Always a good thing in a situation like this. The last thing we need is any cultural tension or blaming for the actions of a nutter.