"This was a murderous attack on gay people in this nightclub. It was clearly directed by a murderous hatred of gay people," Mr Turnbull told reporters. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Credit:Andrew Meares "This is a vile attack on freedom. But as I said earlier, it is an attack on all of us." The Prime Minister had made a statement earlier on Monday in which he did not mention the attack took place in a gay nightclub. He had said it was too early to say precisely what had motivated gunman Omar Mateen, but "it certainly appears to be motivated by a hatred of the freedoms, the free society which all of us enjoy".

No Australians have been identified among the victims, the Department of Foreign Affairs says. "At this stage, the embassy has not received any advice of Australians affected," a DFAT spokeswoman said. Mateen, a 29-year-old US citizen who was known to the FBI, opened fire inside gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida on Saturday night. He used a handgun and an AR-15-type assault rifle, police said. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. Mr Turnbull said Australians could not be complacent but were protected by strong gun control laws and security measures.

"We have strong gun laws in this country thanks to the work of John Howard years ago. Our security and police forces are vigilant in ensuring we are protected against this type of extremism," he said. "We have provided stronger laws to give our agencies the tools they need to keep us safe. We are rigorous in our efforts to ensure that guns are not illegally imported into Australia. "But we cannot be complacent. There are people outside our country and some within it who hate the freedoms that we enjoy and would seek to threaten them and undermine them with violence." Australia stood in solidarity with the people of the US, and remained determined to fight terrorism in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr Turnbull said. He also indicated he had spoken with US Ambassador John Berry - who is gay - and hoped to speak with President Barack Obama. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek released a statement condemning the shooting as a "horrific and senseless attack on our common humanity".

They also expressed solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. "These murders are despicable, and cowardly. We condemn them, utterly," Mr Shorten and Ms Plibersek said. "Many in the LGBTI community will feel an added layer of pain and a sharper sense of loss in the wake of this tragedy. We stand with you in solidarity." In a statement, Greens leader Richard Di Natale expressed his devastation at "another violent and senseless shooting in the United States". He later reissued the statement to include his sympathy for the LGBTI community. Loading