More than 60 Australian sports stars have called on Anthony Albanese to establish a federal royal commission into antisemitism, radicalisation and the Bondi terror attack, as pressure on the government continues.
In an open letter published on Sunday, prominent athletes including former Olympic swimmers Dawn Fraser and Ian Thorpe, canoeist Jess Fox and former tennis player Lleyton Hewitt said the attack, in which 15 people were killed, was “a national crisis, and it demands a national response”.
“As sporting leaders, we understand that leadership matters, especially when values are tested,” the letter said. “We call on the prime minister and the Australian government to show decisive national leadership by confronting extremism and terrorism in all its forms, without fear or hesitation.”
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The letter is the latest public appeal to Albanese, who has resisted calls for a federal royal commission, including those from victims’ families. On Friday, an open letter from more than 120 business leaders and public figures called for a national inquiry, echoed by senior Catholic bishops in a separate message.
The New South Wales government has plans to run a state-based royal commission into the attack, and Albanese has argued that a federal royal commission would take too long and be too wide-ranging. He has opted instead for a review of intelligence and law enforcement agencies by the former Australian Security and Intelligence Service chief Dennis Richardson.
Asked previously if calls for a national royal commission were wrong, Albanese said: “My heart breaks for the families of the victims of the Bondi terrorist atrocity.”
“My job as the Australian prime minister is to act in the national interest,” he said last week. “It is in the national interest for us to do the Richardson review on national security.”
In Sunday’s letter, the signatories said that the issue was “bigger than politics” and there was a need to “put an end to the unprecedented harassment, intimidation and violence that has been directed at the Australian Jewish community since October 7, 2023”.
“A royal commission is the most credible and unifying pathway to understanding what went wrong, ensuring accountability, restoring social harmony and taking Australia forward with a meaningful, practical plan of action.”
Signatories with a political background include the former Labor federal senator and Olympian Nova Peris and John Alexander, a former tennis player who later served as a federal Liberal MP.
Former Olympic sprinter Raelene Boyle, former cricketer Michael Clarke, Sydney Swans player Isaac Heeney and the team’s former coach John Longmire, and former Wallabies captain John Eales also signed the letter.
The signatories said with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games approaching, “the eyes of the world will soon be upon Australia.
“The safety of our citizens, the integrity of our public spaces, and the values we project as a nation have never mattered more.”
