Christchurch ex-councillor says federal commission is critical to stamp out antisemitism
A former Christchurch councilor who worked with victims of mass shootings targeting the city’s Muslim community during the New Zealand royal commission has said he was surprised the Australian government did not call a federal commission into the Bondi attack, saying it was “absolutely critical” to stamping out antisemitism in Australia.
He rejected claims by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Secretary Tony Burke at a press conference on Monday that the federal royal commission would undermine social cohesion and be too slow to report.
Former councilor Raf Manji following the Christchurch attacks in 2019. Credit: Braden Fastier
“I’ve listened to some of the talk about a proposed royal commission, which I would fully support. I’m a little surprised the government hasn’t moved in that direction,” former councilor Raf Manji said on Tuesday morning.
“It’s absolutely critical that the public is reassured after an event like this. And part of that is having the affected community have a say and are listened to, that’s absolutely critical. If you don’t do that, this is going to go on for years,” Manji told ABC Radio National.
Manji was a Christchurch City councilor for the centrist Opportunities Party at the time of the mass shootings carried out by Australian Brenton Tarrant in March 2019, which killed 51 people and injured 89 others. The attacks, which took place at a mosque and an Islamic centre, directly targeted the Muslim community and were investigated by a royal commission, the findings of which were announced in 2020.
“It’s been a very difficult process. People have gone through a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, a lot of anxiety, but it’s worth going through and it’s really important. And I think people feel safer just being able to express how they feel,” Manji said.
“We had an Islamophobia problem here, of course we have an antisemitism problem in Australia. I was watching that. There are a lot of similarities,” he said.
Following the publication on Monday morning of an open letter signed by the families of the 17 victims of the Bondi attack, calling for a royal commission, Burke said the proposed inquiry would provide a platform for “some of the worst expressions and worst voices” on antisemitism.
The government instead proposed a review of the work of intelligence agencies and law enforcement, headed by former department head and ambassador Dennis Richardson.
