Albanese tries to reseize the day on Bondi Beach

2 months ago 20

Editorial

December 18, 2025 — 5.52pm

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has moved decisively to put the Australian government’s response to Sunday’s Bondi Beach shootings back on the front foot.

After a meeting of the National Security Committee on Thursday, Albanese announced a five-point plan to crack down on fanatics who spread hate, division and radicalisation – a response to the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia report by Jillian Segal.

Anthony Albanese addresses the media on Thursday .

The government may not have long to wait to see the efficacy of its reforms.

A western Sydney cleric who claimed Jews wanted to destroy Islam has issued a defiant statement after his religious centre, Al Madina Dawah Centre, was linked to Sunday’s massacre amid calls for it to be shut down.

“Australia brands itself as a liberal democracy where controversial or unpopular speech is lawful unless it breaches specific legal thresholds. Finding other people’s beliefs or opinions distasteful does not automatically make it criminal,” Wissam Haddad said.

The cleric’s provocative words aside, as the Bondi Beach funerals continue, the public mourning has been punctuated by growing anger in some quarters as Albanese stumbled awkwardly to address accusations of ignoring the threat of antisemitism.

These reforms are his attempt to regain the initiative.

They will lower the legal threshold on hate speech in order to target preachers and leaders who promote violence; increase penalties for hate speech promoting violence; make hate an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes for online threats and harassment; and develop a system to list organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech, promote violence or racial hatred. A narrow federal offence also will be developed for serious vilification based on race and advocating racial supremacy.

The days may soon be over when zealots can dance around the legal threshold, confident their hate speech is within the law.

In addition, David Gonski of Gonski school funding review fame will lead a taskforce to improve education on antisemitism and the Holocaust. There will also be new powers to cancel or reject visas for people who spread hate or arouse suspicions if allowed to enter Australia.

Albanese has been taking flak for his government’s slothful responding to the antisemitism report. Segal handed it to the government in July. It remains unclear how many of her recommendations will be acted upon. For her part, Segal said the formal response was a long time coming, but she was confident of the government’s full co-operation in countering antisemitism.

Announcing the reforms, Albanese finally admitted that he and his government could have done more to combat antisemitism. His failure to take responsibility earlier shattered an echo chamber and unnecessarily ushered anger, rage and frustration into the public arena when calm, sensitivity and resolution would have served the community better.

There will be no quick fix. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke acknowledged the laws would take time to formulate and would move Australia into uncharted legal territory.

The record majority in the federal election allows Labor time and room to move. The pity was that Albanese’s decision to step up to the plate on antisemitism took so long.