Anthony Albanese refuses to hold royal commission: PM hits back as he is grilled by journalists at press conference

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected calls for a royal commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack, saying it was in the ‘national interest’ to examine security services instead.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Albanese staunchly defended his decision despite demands from the victims’ families to launch a national investigation.

‘My heart goes out to them at an incredibly traumatic time. “As Prime Minister of Australia, my duty is to act in the national interest,” Albanese said.

‘It is in our national interest to conduct the Richardson review of any gaps that exist in the behavior of our institutions, including national security, the AFP, ASIO and the interactions between Commonwealth and state jurisdictions, and then to ensure that we act on existing advice.’

He said that while royal commissions ‘can be good at deciding the facts’, ‘they are not so good at considering issues where there is disagreement, where people have different views’.

The review, which will be led by Dennis Richardson, the former head of ASIO and the departments of defense and foreign affairs, will assess Australia’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

It is expected to be completed by April.

The review follows the December 14 attack in which ISIS-inspired gunman Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly killed 15 people at Bondi Beach.

‘The government is determined to make sure we don’t have to wait years for answers. “We need to continue making whatever changes are necessary,” Albanese said.

‘This ISIS-inspired brutality in Bondi is a stark reminder of the rapidly changing security environment we face and the need to ensure our agencies have what they need, and we are determined to make sure they have exactly that.’

The Prime Minister, flanked by Home Secretary Tony Burke, was quizzed repeatedly by journalists on Monday about why the royal commission could not run parallel to the inquiry.

‘You’re going to have the NSW royal commission, you’re going to have the Burgess review, you’re going to have prosecutions against the surviving perpetrator of this atrocity, all going on at the same time. “You will also submit a bill to the parliament,” he said.

‘[If we had a royal commission]The full range of issues sought to be examined will delay any outcome by several years.’

Burke agreed and added: ‘There has never been a royal commission that could move at the speed that this inquiry will.’

‘National security information, by definition, is not amenable to public inquiry,’ he said.

‘But on the issue of unity and division, if you bring these issues to the agenda of a royal commission, it will not just be people who feel they have been harmed by the things that have been said or the slogans that have been used.

‘At the same time, there will be those who make these statements, those who will make presentations and those who will appear on the platform. And it all happens again and again.

‘And no one can tell me it’s in the union’s interest to re-platform some of the worst voices.’

Home Secretary Tony Burke says a royal commission will help deplatform ‘some of the worst voices’

The sudden press conference came just a day after families of the attack victims wrote a powerful open letter to the Prime Minister.

‘You owe us an answer. You owe us responsibility. And you owe Australians the truth,’ it read.

‘We demand answers and solutions. ‘We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how anti-Semitic hatred and Islamist extremism were allowed to grow dangerously unchecked, and what changes need to be made to protect all Australians in the future.’

The letter was signed by the families of the youngest and oldest victims: 10-year-old Matilda and 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, as well as relatives of hero couple Sofia and Boris Gurman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Reuven Morrison, Edith Brutman, Tibor Weitzen, Yaakov Levitan, Tania Tretiak and Boris Tetleroyd.

‘Our children do not feel safe at school and university. Our homes, workplaces, sports fields and public spaces are no longer safe. This is an intolerable situation that no Australian should have to endure,” the letter states.

‘The rise of antisemitism in Australia goes far beyond the jurisdiction of a single state. This is a national crisis that requires a strong national response.

‘The dangerous rise of antisemitism and radicalism in Australia is not going away. This threat is real and growing.’

The letter was signed by the families of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest and oldest of the victims, and 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman.

Independent MP Allegra Harcama, whose voters include Bondi, called for a Commonwealth royal commission alongside the Coalition.

‘The Prime Minister’s own department running a federal review is the government investigating itself – it’s not going to cut it,’ Spending said.

‘If we want lessons to be learned and meaningful change to be achieved, we need a joint Commonwealth-Government inquiry that is truly independent and has real powers.’

Spending also called for the inquiry to be able to accept public submissions.

Commenting on X, former Liberal treasurer and prominent Australian Jew Josh Frydenberg said families’ intervention must be ‘too loud to ignore’.

“With recent polls showing the Australian public agrees with the long list of legal, national security and political leaders calling for a Royal Commission, it is now time for the Prime Minister to listen and act,” Frydenberg said.

‘The voices are too loud and too important to ignore. ‘It is clearly in Australia’s national interest for the Prime Minister to now call for a Royal Commission.’