‘Not a one-off’: calls grow for Bondi royal commission
Australian sporting leaders have added their voices to a growing chorus demanding a national royal commission into anti-Semitism and the Bondi terror attack.
Leading stars, including Olympians, AFL and NRL figures, were the latest to call for a federal inquiry into what they say is Australia’s security and social cohesion has been disrupted by the massacre.
“This attack did not occur in isolation. It follows more than two years of rising extremism, intimidation and uncontrolled radicalization in Australia,” they said in a joint statement on Sunday.
“For generations we have stood for justice, respect, equality and the principle that every Australian, no matter who they are, deserves safety, dignity and the freedom to live without fear.”
The statement was coordinated by Olympians including former hockey player Nova Peris and former swimmers Grant Hackett and Ian Thorpe.
Other signatories include NRL commentator Brad Fittler, former swimmers Michael Klim and Dawn Fraser, tennis player Lleyton Hewitt and surfer Mick Fanning.
Peris and Fraser gathered with the victims’ families near the scene of the attack in Bondi on Sunday afternoon.
“This is not a gun issue, this is not a one-off issue, this is an anti-Semitism issue,” said a tearful Fraser.
“It’s being built and built and our leaders are too afraid to say anything or do anything because, God forbid, they’re going to be called racist.
“But when you do the right thing to protect your country, it’s not racism.”
He addressed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Home Secretary Tony Burke and Foreign Secretary Penny Wong directly.
“Get off your high horse and stop running for cover. If the Jewish community wants a royal commission then do the right thing,” he said.
Peris said there was a systematic failure in the country’s law enforcement and intelligence institutions.
The Olympian and former Labor senator said: “If we fail to investigate radicalization honestly, rigorously and fearlessly now, we run the risk of investigating the bodies later.”
Alex Ryvchin, co-chair of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, thanked the sports figures for their support.
“Your intervention should not have been necessary,” he said.
“It should have been enough for the government to see the need for a royal commission when 15 of our people were being murdered just meters from here.”
Mr Albanese has resisted calls for a royal commission from victims’ families, hundreds of senior lawyers, Jewish groups and more than 100 business leaders.
Instead, he announced the Richardson Review, led by former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson, which will examine law enforcement and security agencies’ responses to the massacre.
Mr Albanese insists the Commonwealth royal commission could not provide the urgent response needed after two gunmen shot Hanukkah revelers on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.
The sports stars’ public stance also warned that the eyes of the world will soon be on Australia for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane and that the safety and integrity of public spaces has never been more important.
Heavily armed uniformed and mounted police, as well as public order and riot police, patrol the Sydney Cricket Ground during the final Ashes Test.
NSW Police Counter Terrorism Squad boss Assistant Commissioner Leanne McCusker said the arming of some officers with specialized rifles was not motivated by a specific threat.
The measures mirror those put in place for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, where specialist police were armed with semi-automatic rifles and patrolled the packed stadium, a nearby park and a rail hub.
Victims of the Bondi massacre, first responders and community members, including hero Ahmed al-Ahmad, were honored with an on-site memorial ceremony that included a guard of honor and a round of applause for the efforts and service of emergency response agencies and community members.
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