The tragedy at Bondi Beach demands a federal royal commission

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Editorial

December 23, 2025 — 5.00am

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese looks increasingly out of touch with community sentiment backing a national royal commission into the Bondi Beach killings.

His claims that such an inquiry would take too long and delay any action are out of step with public expectations that, with so many unanswered questions, now is the time for transparency.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a press conference at Parliament House on Monday.

He has backed himself into a corner with his stance.

Albanese has announced a review led by former spy chief Dennis Richardson to study whether federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies – chiefly ASIO and the AFP– have adequate power to handle such an emergency, with a report due by April.

The problem with such a review is it risks being shrouded in secrecy. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess and other security chiefs will provide evidence to one of their own behind closed doors, where the possibility arises that they can claim national security when it suits them and Australians will be kept in the dark.

A groundswell of public support for the Jewish community, who are largely backing the calls for a royal commission, has swept across the nation.

The mood was captured graphically on Sunday evening at the Bondi Beach vigil to mark a National Day of Reflection as the president of the NSW Board of Jewish Deputies, David Ossip, drew cheers when he said it “cannot be disputed” that a federal royal commission was needed.

His words are testimony to both common sense and the national mood.

The number of voices now calling for a royal commission, including former chief justice of the High Court Robert French, emboldened Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to attack Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on Monday for not shedding “a single tear” over the killings.

Until now, the opposition has been unable to land a telling blow on the government since being routed in May’s federal election. Albanese cannot be personally blamed for the appalling rise in antisemitism, but his refusal to budge on a royal commission has fuelled claims of a leadership vacuum at the top.

His stand looks even more incomprehensible given Premier Chris Minns has plans for his own NSW royal commission, a proposal that has Albanese’s blessing.

Given the rise of antisemitism around Australia after the Hamas raids of October 2023, a multi-jurisdictional investigation seems obvious.

Of course, royal commissions can be called by a federal government or state governments, with each level of government limited to investigating matters that fall within their jurisdiction.

There are precedents for joint federal and state royal commissions where responsibilities overlap. The 1904 Royal Commission on the Butter Industry was an early example. More recently, there were the 2019 Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability and the 2013 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A multi-jurisdiction investigation seems the obvious path to uncovering how the Bondi Beach attack happened, and ways to counter antisemitism and terrorism to prevent future attacks in Sydney and around the nation.

Albanese’s refusal to countenance this is to defend the indefensible.