A Europa se preparou contra possíveis ataques terroristas, assim como a Austrália, com o primeiro-ministro Malcolm Turnbull dizendo na sua mensagem de Ano Novo que o terrorismo não vai conseguir dividir os australianos.
"Those who have sought to divide us have failed just as those who try to divide us in the future will fail. And that's because we remain united in our determination to maintain our Australian values and our Australian way of life. Freedom, diversity and security - these are great Australian strengths. And they are built upon a foundation of mutual respect."
O líder da oposição, Bill Shorten, disse que o seu Partido Trabalhista vai trabalhar duro em 2017 para garantir que nenhum australiano fique deixado para trás.
"The Labor I lead will continue to stand up for the things that matter to ordinary Australians. And there is no more important issue to me than jobs. To those who simply want a good, secure job in 2017, my united Labor team and I will keep fighting for you. We'll keep standing up for Medicare and we'll fight for a decent education for our children - whether they're at school, university or TAFE. And we'll keep working hard to build a strong economy that delivers for all Australians."
O presidente dos EUA, Barack Obama, que deixa o cargo para Donald Trump em janeiro, desejou um feliz Ano Novo aos americanos, pela última vez como presidente.
"And to keep America moving forward is a task that falls to all of us. Sustaining and building on all we've achieved - from helping more young people afford a higher education, to ending discrimination based on preexisting conditions, to tightening rules on Wall Street, to protecting this planet for our kids - that's going to take all of us working together. Because that's always been our story - the story of ordinary people coming together in the hard, slow, sometimes frustrating, but always vital work of self-government."
O presidente da Rússia, Vladimir Putin, também fez a sua mensagem de Ano Novo.
"It wasn't easy, but the difficulties that we faced have unified us. They've motivated us to discover huge reserves of our capacity to move forward. The main thing is that we believe in ourselves, in our strength, in our country."
Em Sydney, a polícia de Nova Gales do Sul disse estar satisfeita por ter feito poucas detenções nas celebracões do Ano Novo.
Estima-se que um milhão e meio de pessoas foram à cidade para ver o espetáculo da queima de fogos.
O comissário-assistente Nick Fueller disse que as poucas detencões foram de pessoas que beberam demais e de pequenas agressões, inclusive a policiais, mas todos incidentes menores.
"We had some minor incidents. We had 15 people charged at this stage for about 21 offences and about five police officers receive some minor injuries. Those individuals have been charged and they're before the court."
Funcionários do governo do estado de Vitória disseram que ao redor de 50 animais domésticos acabaram nos centros de abrigo de animais, após terem ficado aterrorizados com a queima de fogos nas celebracões.
49 cachorros e um gatinho foram levados ao Lar dos Cachorros Perdidos, em dois locais em Melbourne.
