Albanese government slammed for review failing to name antisemitism
Updated ,first published
A former Labor minister has blasted the Albanian government’s review of security agencies and law enforcement in the wake of the Bondi terror attack for failing to name antisemitism and violent extremism in its terms of reference, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s claims that antisemitism would naturally be addressed in the review.
Criticism of the federal government’s primary investigation into the December 14 Bondi terror attack came as Opposition Leader Sussan Ley demanded to know whether national security agencies had advised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese not to set up a royal commission into antisemitism.
More than 200 senior members of the Australian bar have signed an open letter calling for a royal commission; Recent additions include former attorney general and UK high commissioner George Brandis, former Victorian Supreme Court judge Betty King, who presided over most of the Melbourne gangland cases, former NSW Supreme Court judge George Palmer and former Family Court chief judge John Pascoe.
Former Labor defense materiel minister Mike Kelly, a Jewish MP who served in the Rudd and Gillard governments, told this imprint that the terms of reference showed “a complete lack of awareness of where this all started”. This doesn’t start with buying a gun. It doesn’t start with planning an attack. It starts from the mindset that creates the motivation to do these things.”
Kelly said the review should examine attack motivations as well as vulnerabilities.
“It’s not natural to think that a 10-year-old little girl should be killed. Where does that motivation come from? That’s the question. That’s the real issue right now.”
Kelly repeated his call for a Commonwealth royal commission, saying it was the most appropriate way to investigate the attacks and would be a “significant step forward” for the country.
The government strongly opposes a federal royal commission, arguing it would be too slow and display hate speech, while the Richardson review would be quicker and the former security chief would be the best person to find answers due to the depth of his expertise.
On Monday, Albanese outlined the terms of reference for the law enforcement and intelligence agency review, led by former diplomat and department secretary Dennis Richardson. Albanese stated that “real experts” supported the review by a federal royal commission; The opposition opposed this view and demanded that the expert advice be published.
“He claimed that unnamed ‘real experts’ advised him against setting up a Commonwealth royal commission. Today he refuses to say who those experts actually were,” Ley told reporters on Wednesday.
Ley said: “Is the Prime Minister hiding behind a smokescreen? Is he using national security as a political shield? Australians deserve clear answers. Is this advice available? What is the Prime Minister hiding?” he said.
The Richardson review comes alongside other federal measures announced in response to the Bondi attack, including a pledge to strengthen hate speech legislation, tougher gun import laws and a national buyback plan. Albanese also pledged to accept most, if not all, of the recommendations that Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, presented to the government six months ago.
The review is tasked with analyzing the effectiveness, powers and processes of security and law enforcement, as well as information known about the attackers before December 14. However, the terms of reference do not address antisemitism or violent extremism.
Terms of reference for the Richardson investigation
Former ASIO chief and department of defense and external affairs secretary Dennis Richardson will report in April on whether ASIO and the Australian Federal Police did all they could in the context of the Bondi terror attack and whether information sharing between the agencies was sufficient. The review will examine
- What relevant Commonwealth agencies knew about the alleged offenders before the attack and when
- Interaction and information sharing between Commonwealth agencies and between Commonwealth and state and territory agencies
- What decisions were made and what actions were taken by the relevant institutions?
- Whether there are any additional measures that relevant Commonwealth agencies could take to prevent a terrorist attack
- Whether relevant Commonwealth bodies are prevented from taking prohibitive actions by the existing legal framework and authorizing environment
- What additional measures (if any) should be taken by relevant Commonwealth agencies to prevent similar attacks from occurring in the future:
- Whether they have adequate legislative powers, the correct systems, processes and procedures, and an appropriate enabling environment for sharing information with other federal, state and territory bodies.
- Whether permission and data access regimes and authorizations are sufficient
- whether any legislative changes are required.
Peter Wertheim, co-chairman of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, said the review’s terms of reference were “too narrowly focused” on intelligence and law enforcement agencies and ignored “the wider context in which these agencies operate”.
“To get to the heart of the matter, there needs to be an honest examination of government policies and the behavior and policies of key institutions and figures in key sectors of our society. Their contribution to the unprecedented levels of antisemitism in this country over the last two years must be addressed,” he said, arguing that the proposed royal commission was the only way to resolve the problems.
“What may emerge may actually be divisive and ugly, but the divisiveness and ugliness are already there. It will be cathartic to confront these demons. It is our only hope for building a new national consensus and setting clear standards.”
Australian Zionist Federation President Jeremy Leibler said the terms of reference, which made no mention of antisemitism or Australian Jews, were “indefensible”.
“The problem with the federal government setting up only the Richardson review and not a royal commission is that Richardson has been directed to look only at the response of the security services rather than looking at the root causes underlying antisemitism problems,” he said.
Asked on Monday about removing the word “antisemitism” from the review’s terms of reference, Albanese said “that’s what the whole framework is about.”
“He will undertake a comprehensive review of what is happening, whether there is any gap, whether there is any gap between the Commonwealth and New South Wales, what kind of response is required, report practically and effectively within months, not years, and act with unity and urgency, not division and delay,” Albanese said. he said.
Industry Minister Tim Ayres said on Wednesday the review would be “more wide-ranging” than the royal commission and that it would be “a symbolic approach to division and delay rather than an approach aimed at getting practical answers at this time”.
Ayres told Sky News: “The Richardson report will be reported in a matter of months, not a few years. It will provide a broad, effective and pragmatic assessment of what is required of Australia’s security agencies to strengthen our overall response and strengthen Australia’s capacity to deal with such terrorist attacks.”
On Wednesday, December 16, Jewish organizations including the Australian Jewish Students’ Union and the Rabbinical Council of Australia penned an open letter demanding the establishment of a federal royal commission. This follows the publication of similar letters from the families of 17 victims.
Bondi Beach incident helplines:
- Bondi Beach Victim Services 1800 411 822
- Bondi Beach Public Information and Research Center 1800 227 228
- NSW Mental Health Line 1800 011 511or Lifeline is open 13 11 14
- Child Helpline is open 1800 55 1800 or chat online at: kidshelpline.com.au
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Nick Newling is the federal politics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
