Cost of the Bondi terror royal commission revealed
More than $130 million will be spent on the fast-tracked royal commission into the Bondi terror attack.
The federal government will spend $131.1 million to establish and conduct the investigation, officials at the Ministry of the Attorney General announced at a parliamentary hearing on Monday.
The cost will include $91.2 million for the royal commission and $40 million for the department to support the investigation.
The hearing was told that 89 staff would be allocated to the royal commission, 64 to the investigation itself and 25 to the Attorney General’s Office.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the royal commission in January following ongoing political pressure following the terror attack.
Mr Albanese was criticized for the length of time it took to set up the royal commission, almost a month after the massacre, following calls from Jewish groups and prominent figures.
On December 14, 15 innocent people lost their lives when a father-son duo opened fire on Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach.
Former Supreme Court justice Virginia Bell will lead the investigation, which will focus on the circumstances that led to the terrorist attack as well as the prevalence of anti-Semitism and religiously motivated extremism.
The royal commission will also focus on recommendations to improve social cohesion in the wake of the massacre.
The investigation will release its final report on the anniversary of the attack in December.
The inquiry, chaired by former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson and examining the role of intelligence agencies, will be included in the interim royal commission report to be published in April.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy told a parliamentary hearing she hoped other forms of hate would be examined by the royal commission.
“I’m very concerned about the rise of online hate and racism, particularly towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people… I’m also looking very closely at what the possibilities are with a royal commission,” he said.
“I definitely understand in terms of mission terms, there is a path there.”
