Former Labor MPs urge Albanese for royal commission into antisemitism
Labor leaders are privately calling on the prime minister to step down. Credit: Bloomberg
Albanese also backed the NSW royal commission announced by Premier Chris Minns, alongside a sweeping package of federal measures that includes the biggest firearms buyback since 1996, tougher gun laws, new hate crime provisions and a review of intelligence and law enforcement agencies led by former ASIO director-general Dennis Richardson.
But the letter’s authors say the NSW investigation, while welcome, is inherently limited.
“We commend NSW Premier Chris Minns for calling the NSW Royal Commission, but such a commission cannot compel agencies and individuals outside its jurisdiction to provide evidence,” they write, arguing that only a Commonwealth inquiry can compel federal agencies and social media companies to provide evidence and offer legal protection for whistleblowers.
The signatories are calling for a mandate broad enough to examine “systemic, legal, institutional, cross-jurisdictional and educational issues,” including the role of online radicalization, the role of hate speech and incitement, and the effectiveness of intelligence sharing between state and federal agencies.
Former Victorian Labor deputy premier James Merlino, along with former cabinet colleague Phillip Daladakis, who is Jewish, was among a group of business leaders who called for a royal commission last week.
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The letter also reflects the depth of anger and fear in parts of Australia’s Jewish communities since the attack. The report describes Australian Jews being forced to send their children to schools guarded by armed security, pray behind blast-proof walls and hide their identities in public to stay safe.
“The health of our democracy and our national security are at risk,” the letter says. “This includes the values and institutions that help create a safe, harmonious and multicultural Australia.”
Mike Kelly, a former defense materiel minister and Eden-Monaro MP who is now a co-convenor of the party’s Friends of Israel group, said the Bondi attack occurred within a broader narrative of rising antisemitism, arguing that the violence did not occur in isolation but emerged from an environment where hatred was allowed to grow unchecked.
“There is a whole ecosystem associated with the terrorist attack,” Kelly said. “This brutality does not come out of nowhere. There are many questions that need to be asked in general terms that the narrow job description given to Dennis Richardson cannot answer,” he said.
Kelly said Labor members would be foolish to think this was a partisan political call for a national inquiry.
“This is not just a matter of partisan politics, but I would still like to see the Coalition be more approachable and offer support to deal with this situation and highlight where there are shortcomings,” he said.
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