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Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has condemned ABC’s Sarah Ferguson for asking if he had any political motivations for his impassioned rebuke of the prime minister at Bondi on Wednesday, as he denounces the government’s argument that a royal commission into antisemitism would delay action.
The Coalition has been calling for a royal commission to investigate antisemitism and its impact on the Bondi terror attacks which claimed 15 lives and injured dozens more, as key ministerial and Jewish figures within Labor say they can do more to tackle the ancient hatred.
During an appearance on ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday evening, Ferguson asked Frydenberg if his speech at the Bondi Pavilion earlier in the day was a “personal case against the prime minister” ahead of an “inevitable” return to politics.
“I’m deeply offended by what you’ve just said. I’m deeply offended,” Frydenberg responded. “That is an insult to say that there is any political motivation in this.
“I am an Australian who has to have personal security because my life is endangered in this country, and I was the treasurer of this country. My children go to a school where there are armed guards outside. When I visit a Jewish age care centre, there are armed guards outside. When I send my kids to Jewish sporting clubs, there are police cars out there and police tape,” Frydenberg said.
“How should we live with this? Why should we live with this? So, If I’m not going to speak out, who is? If not now, when? If not me, who. The reality is, this was an attack on Jewish Australians, but this is a threat to every Australian.”
Frydenberg served as treasurer under Scott Morrison from 2018 until he lost his seat in 2022 to teal independent Monique Ryan. He chose not to run for preselection for the seat in 2025. During his time in parliament, Frydenberg was widely viewed as a future leader of the Liberal Party.
While speaking at Bondi on Wednesday, Frydenberg made eight recommendations of the government to tackle antisemitism, including the establishment of a royal commission into antisemitism. However, the move was rebuffed by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke who said it would slow progress.
Also speaking on 7.30, Burke said: “The last thing I want is the delays that happen on a royal commission ... we need to put everything right into making sure we are keeping people safe and doing everything to make sure this does not happen again.
“I’d remind you that after Lindt [cafe siege], after Port Arthur, that was the same approach that was taken. You don’t want the delays involved in a royal commission, the priority has to be: what actions do we take to keep people safe?”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Monday.Credit: Ben Symons
Treasurer Jim Chalmers backed Burke’s position, saying: “We want our agencies 100 per cent focused on the investigation”, saying the work of police and intelligence forces would inform the government’s “additional necessary steps”.
“We don’t want them delayed or deterred by a royal commission. Everyone’s focus, including the agencies involved here, needs to be on the investigation, needs to be on getting to the bottom of what happened here,” Chalmers told ABC Radio National on Thursday.
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The sentiment was echoed by Labor’s most high-profile Jewish MP, former attorney-general Mark Dreyfuss, who said a royal commission was “not what’s needed now” after personally being involved in 10 commissions.
“What’s needed right now is more action … We’re going to make sure that whatever resources are needed are now put into making sure that Australia is again a place where Jews can feel safe, because it isn’t now,” Dreyfus told the ABC on Thursday.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Frydenberg said Burke was “weak” and “full of excuses”.
“The home affairs minister has been delaying for 2½ years. I don’t know what he’s talking about. At the end of the day, we have a home affairs minister who is weak. We have a home affairs minister who’s full of excuses. We need a home affairs minister who is strong and is full of solutions. That’s the problem we’ve got,” Frydenberg told Seven’s Sunrise.
“The people who are in charge are not up to the job, and he can’t keep going with excuses. I don’t know what he’s got to hide from a royal commission,” Frydenberg said.
Opposition finance spokesperson James Paterson echoed Frydenberg’s words, saying he was “absolutely flabbergasted” by the government’s reticence to establish a royal commission.
“Firstly, you can act and have an inquiry at the same time. And secondly, the only thing the Albanese government has done for the last two years is delay action. So for them to use that as an excuse now for not getting to the bottom of how this happened, I think it’s a disgrace,” Paterson told ABC Radio National.
“This is the worst ever terrorist attack in Australian history. We have had royal commissions about much more trivial matters than this, and I think it is the bare minimum we should expect from the government.”
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