‘I’ve taken the time to reflect’: Anthony Albanese bows to intense pressure, announces antisemitism royal commission

2 months ago 19

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will establish a royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion in the wake of the worst terror attack in the nation’s history, responding to the requests of victims’ families after three weeks of calls from the federal opposition, public figures and some within Labor to hold a federal inquiry.

Albanese has stared down resistance from prominent Jewish Australians, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and will appoint former High Court justice Virginia Bell to lead a royal commission into the Bondi terror attack and the broader issue of antisemitism in Australia.

Albanese’s announcement of Bell’s appointment comes despite some in the Jewish community raising concerns about Bell’s role in writing modern protest laws in Australia.

The prime minister said the royal commission would address four key areas: investigating the nature and prevalence of antisemitism; making recommendations to assist law enforcement or to control immigration and security agencies to tackle antisemitism; examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged Bondi terrorist attack on Sunday, December 14; and examining ways to strengthen social cohesion and counter the spread of ideological and religiously motivated extremism in Australia.

“I’ve taken the time to reflect, to meet with leaders in the Jewish community and most importantly, I’ve met with many of the families of victims and survivors of that horrific attack,” Albanese said. “In family homes, in synagogues, at the Governor-General’s, at community events.”

The Bondi Pavilion following the tragedy.

Albanese said the inquiry would not be “a drawn-out process”, with the government asking Bell to deliver her final report before December 14 this year. The commissioner has also been directed not to prejudice any future criminal proceedings.

Former senior public servant Dennis Richardson’s existing work into the attack will be incorporated into the commission. Richardson will support Bell’s inquiry and deliver an interim report by April.

He said Bell’s experience would allow the commission to meaningfully examine the impact of antisemitism on the daily lives of Jewish Australians without providing a platform for hatred.

“This royal commission is the right format, the right duration and the right terms of reference to deliver the right outcome for our national unity and our national security,” Albanese said.

Albanese said one royal commission was what was needed but that NSW Premier Chris Minns, who had already announced a state royal commission, would have more to say.

The prime minister had withstood growing demands for a federal royal commission as they came from the Jewish community, lawyers, business figures and sports stars who argued the highest form of inquiry was required to grapple with antisemitism and the circumstances that led to the December 14 Bondi massacre, which killed 15 innocent people at a Hanukkah event.

Albanese had said that a federal inquiry risked delaying action and duplicating a state royal commission that had been promised by Minns. Instead, he commissioned a rapid review into intelligence failures by ex-ASIO boss Dennis Richardson, and said federal agencies would co-operate with the NSW probe.

His government also suggested a royal commission was not best-placed to deal with national security issues and risked giving a platform to antisemitic hate speech.

But Albanese this week changed his message, and did not rule out a federal inquiry. “We’re continuing to examine everything else that is required,” he said on Tuesday.

A growing number of Jewish leaders, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, on Thursday raised concerns about the mooted appointment of Bell as Albanese’s choice to lead a royal commission, warning that broad community consensus over the commissioner “should be a minimum requirement” for the inquiry to succeed.

Bell was appointed by Albanese in 2022 to probe Scott Morrison’s multiple ministries, and has been hailed by several eminent judges for the clarity and precision of her judgments.

Calls for a royal commission had come from the families of Bondi victims, national and state Jewish community groups, more than 200 senior members of the Australian Bar, over 100 captains of industry, the Business Council of Australia, the Law Council of Australia, Catholic bishops, prominent sports stars and two Labor backbenchers.

Former Labor frontbencher Mike Kelly, a leader of the Labor Friends of Israel group, said this week that several Labor figures – who because of their current or former positions within the party did not want to comment publicly – had also privately lobbying the prime minister to reverse course.

More to come

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