The prime minister has confirmed his government will call a federal royal commission after the Bondi terror attack, with Anthony Albanese backflipping on an earlier stance against a wide-ranging commonwealth inquiry.
Albanese announced on Thursday the federal royal commission will examine four key areas, including the prevalence of antisemitism, how law enforcement will respond to antisemitism, the circumstances surrounding the alleged Bondi attack and strengthening social cohesion.
But the federal Coalition instantly criticised Albanese’s move, with Liberal leader Sussan Ley claiming he should have appointed more commissioners to run the inquiry and stopping short of endorsing his proposed terms of reference.
In a press conference, Albanese defended not calling a federal commission sooner, telling media he had been listening to the wide calls for a commission, and downplaying concerns he had earlier raised about a commonwealth inquiry, including that it would take too long or platform antisemitic hate.
“Our government’s priority is to promote unity and social cohesion, and this is what Australia needs to heal, to learn, to come together in a spirit of national unity and to go forward knowing that, just like people who gathered that night on Bondi beach were committing to, that light will prevail over darkness. It’s clear to me that a royal commission is essential to achieving this,” said Albanese.
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“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.”
Shortly after Albanese’s press conference, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, released a statement, confirming his state’s previously announced royal commission would no longer go ahead, and instead his government would cooperate with the federal inquiry. The commonwealth royal commission will report before 14 December 2026.
Amid growing calls from families of the Bondi victims, Jewish community groups, and politicians across the nation, including his own Labor caucus, the prime minister backtracked in recent days on his earlier reluctance to such an inquiry. The shooting at a Hanukah event in Bondi, allegedly carried out by a father and son inspired by Islamic State, claimed the lives of 15 people.
The former high court justice Virginia Bell has been named to lead the commission to investigate antisemitism and the Bondi attack. Bell, who was appointed counsel on NSW’s Wood royal commission into the police service in 1994, has also served as a judge on NSW’s supreme court and court of appeal, and on the high court from 2009 to 2021. She was also commissioned by Albanese’s Labor government in 2022 to investigate former prime minister Scott Morrison’s secret decisions to appoint himself to multiple ministerial portfolios without the knowledge of the ministers in those roles.
Albanese said a review into intelligence and law enforcement agencies by the former Asio chief Dennis Richardson would now feed into the federal royal commission, with the commission to provide an interim report in April. However he wouldn’t confirm whether Richardson’s inquiries would hold public hearings, as a royal commission normally would, saying such details would be up to the commissioner.
“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’s announcement followed a mounting public pressure campaign from across Australian society, including an emotional open letter from families of most of the Bondi victims calling for a royal commission into the attack and the broader issue of antisemitism in Australia.
The federal Coalition and others in parliament have backed calls from Jewish community groups for an inquiry to investigate antisemitism, with broader calls for a probe into questions about intelligence, law enforcement and firearms laws.
One of the alleged shooters, Naveed Akram – who has been charged with dozens of offences, including 15 counts of murder – had been investigated by Asio in October 2019 for alleged associations with individuals involved in a reported Islamic State cell. His father was later approved for a gun licence.
Ley described Albanese’s recent actions as “fumble and flounder”, and that he had been “forced” to call a royal commission under mounting public pressure. She accused Albanese of seeking to “limit” the royal commission by only appointing one commissioner, not three as the Coalition had suggested.
Albanese had rejected the Coalition’s proposed terms of reference as far too long and complicated.
“The pleas of the families of victims, the Jewish community and the wider community have finally been heeded, but as always, Anthony Albanese has only acted when he judged it was in his political interest. His political interest is the only thing that guides him, never the national interest,” Ley claimed.
“A single commissioner is inadequate for an inquiry of this scale, complexity and importance.”
She said the Coalition would examine the government’s terms of reference, but declined to endorse them on Thursday evening.
The federal government had previously been committed only to a narrow inquiry, led by Richardson, into the national intelligence and law enforcement community – a step the former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has led calls for a royal commission, rubbished as “bullshit”.
Frydenberg, who had earlier claimed Jewish leaders “have serious concerns about [Bell’s] appointment” – without detailing what those concerns were – struck a conciliatory tone on social media after the royal commission was confirmed, welcoming the news and calling it “an opportunity to reset, rebuild and repair our nation”.
