2014 Sydney hostage crisis
The 2014 Sydney hostage crisis, also known as the Sydney siege and Lindt Cafe siege, occurred on 15–16 December 2014 when a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, held hostage ten customers and eight employees of a Lindt chocolate café located at Martin Place in Sydney, Australia. Police treated the event as a terrorist attack at the time, but Monis' motives were subsequently debated. However, the findings of the Coroner in 2017 deemed the event to be a terrorist attack.
Mike Baird
Baird had publicly advocated for the tough Sydney lockout laws and on 9 February 2016 posted a Facebook response to an article published by Matt Barrie condemning the Premier's actions. Baird's response gained international attention after the post received over 10,000 likes - along with more than 10,000 comments that were mostly critical of the Premier's stance on the laws. Baird's reputation as a "darling of social media" was tarnished as the hashtag #casinomike became the number one trending topic nationwide on Twitter in reference to lockout laws not applying to Star City Casino, as it is located outside the entertainment and cbd precincts where the laws apply. A protest was organised in response to Baird's comments by community group Keep Sydney Open on 21 February 2016, with over 15,000 people marching in Sydney's CBD and calling on the Baird government to abolish the lockout laws.