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The Albanese government has rejected calls by families of Bondi beach terror attack victims for a federal royal commission, claiming it would “provide a platform for the worst voices” of antisemitism.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said a royal commission would be too slow and was not the right vehicle to investigate the attack on a Hanukah festival that killed 15, standing by his preference for a shorter review of intelligence and law enforcement agencies – a move scorned as inadequate by leaders of the Jewish community and many federal MPs.
Asked about an open letter from families of 11 Bondi victims calling for a royal commission and saying the federal response had been inadequate, Albanese told a press conference in Canberra on Monday that such an inquiry would not be appropriate.
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“The issue there is that royal commissions can be good at deciding facts. What the Richardson review will do is decide facts. Where royal commissions are not as good, is to consider things that are not agreed, where people have differences of views, and to enable, which is what it would do, a repetition of some of the worst developments,” he said.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, claimed a royal commission would “provide a public platform for some of the worst statements and worst voices”, saying that format would “effectively relive some of the worst examples of antisemitism over the last two years”.
But Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said a royal commission was crucial, including investigating migration and border security systems.
Speaking on the ABC after Albanese’s press conference, Ryvchin said a federal royal commission was “the least that can be done”.
“The families have spoken very clearly, the community has spoken, and the government’s approach articulated today by the prime minister has been indicative of how they’ve handled this crisis for over two years now,” he said.
“They drag their feet, they don’t listen to the experts and to the community, and then what they propose is an ineffective half measure.”
Albanese announced on Monday that former Asio chief Dennis Richardson’s review would be tasked with investigating the powers, efficiency, systems and information sharing by federal law enforcement agencies.
With a particular focus on the federal police and Asio, Richardson’s review – to report by April – will investigate how the alleged offenders were assessed by federal law enforcement agencies, what was known about them before the attack, any barriers to authorities taking better action, and what action should be taken in future, including whether warrant and data access powers are sufficient.
Burke said the Richardson inquiry would report back much faster than any royal commission could, and added the investigation’s national security elements “doesn’t lend itself to public inquiry”.
The Albanese government has also pointed to the New South Wales state royal commission, saying federal agencies would cooperate with that inquiry.
However, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said a national royal commission was needed to investigate antisemitism Australia-wide, noting recent incidents across the country, and urging Albanese to heed the pleas from the families of Bondi victims.
“Instead of listening to those most affected, the prime minister has decided to speak over them. Instead of the truth, he is hiding behind the process. By speaking over victims and their families and declaring that his pathway forward is the right one, the prime minister has actually insulted those who have endured the unimaginable,” she said.
“Australians do not need to be shielded from the truth. We honour the lives of those who have been lost by confronting uncomfortable truths. To tell grieving families and a shocked nation that they are better off not knowing the truth is not leadership. It is disrespect.”
The Coalition has proposed its own wide-ranging terms of reference for a royal commission, which have been criticised by Albanese for being far too broad and potentially requiring a years-long inquiry, with dozens of suggestions including investigating the education and migration systems, mainstream media reporting, arts and culture, protests and social media. Ley said on Monday she was keen to work with the government to discuss alternative terms for a commonwealth royal commission.
