Westfield's global security chief opposed criticism of how the Guard responded to the stabbing attack at Bondy Junction and told the investigation that the company had a "very strong security culture" established by founder Frank Lowy.

Scentre Group Security Director John Yates, who runs Westfield shopping malls worldwide, introduced his previous career to the NSW Coroner Court from 2007 to 2009 and was the highest detective in the Metropolitan Police Department.

Yates was then the most senior anti-terrorism figure in Britain, including providing protection to the royal family and Heathrow Airport.

Heard of a security officer leaving CCTV control room before the investigation was heard that a security officer had left the CCTV control room and his security operations at Westfield Bondi junction were questioned when 40-year-old Joel Cauchi died six people and 10 people were killed in April 2024.

In Monday's lawsuit, a British counter-terrorism expert claimed that even if they returned to the control room, the guards (called CR1) did not respond in a timely manner as the attack unfolded.

In the court call, Security officials can be heard telling police to "shoot".

When asked if she was injured, she replied, “We don’t know, we’re just evacuating the center as soon as possible.” She added, “So I was just told we had three to four injuries and two stabs” and “the police are doing CPR on someone at level 5”.

Yates told the investigation Tuesday that he believed the evidence that earlier criticized CR1 behavior was "very harsh".

He suggested that security guards are expected to be "unrealistic" - they receive 80 hours of training, paid between $26 and $28 per hour in New South Wales for a six-month residential training academy and then paired with senior officials.

"Their role is to observe, report, escalate...it's certainly not to interact with the attacker," Yates told the court.

Yates said Scentre Group has a security team that includes a small intelligence operation that monitors physical security and cybersecurity. He said it was unusual for a shopping mall company and thanks to founder Frank Lowy taking safety seriously.

"I say our safety culture is very strong," Yates said Tuesday.

The security chief responded to criticism of the incident that the CR1 report could confuse the NSW Police Department.

He said sitting in a CCTV control room is more complicated than a “surveillance screen library”, with only the main exits and entries constantly showing.

He said Westfield Bondi Junction installed hundreds of cameras on Westfield Bondi Junction and knew the cameras to happen on the scene were not simple.

"The idea that you can go straight into the right camera and start paying attention right away is totally unrealistic," Yates told The Inquest.

Yates, while addressing concerns about CR1’s clarity in triple zero calls, mentioned his time at the Metropolitan Police Department and even trained professionals made “catastrophic mistakes”.

Yates killed Metropolitan police in the Stockwell Tube Station a few weeks after the 2005 London bombing, a case of “people who endure bad decisions” at the Stockwell Tube Station.

Yates defended CR1 on the same day as "a competency in entering the control room."

"I think she did her best to know herself," he said. "There is no doubt that she was struggling that day, but it was a "terrible multi-generational event."

The investigation continues.