Ex-AFP commissioner Mick Keelty slams AFP chief Krissy Barrett for saying Bondi terror not linked with Islam
Former Australian Federal Police chief Mick Keelty has criticized the woman now doing her job for suggesting Islam played no role in the Bondi terror attack that killed 15 innocent people.
“This painful divide appears to be affecting the highest levels of government and is deeply troubling,” he wrote in an opinion piece published in The Australian on Monday.
“This reflects a conceptual error that goes to the heart of Australia’s counter-terrorism stance.
“Last time I checked — and I know I’m in the tooth now — ISIS is a Sunni Islamic extremist organization that commits acts of terrorism in the name of a harsh and violent interpretation of Islam.”
Religion played no role in Australia’s worst-ever terror attack, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said at a press conference on December 16, two days after the Bondi massacre.
“These are the alleged actions of people who devoted themselves not to a religion but to a terrorist organization,” he said.
“There is no evidence to suggest any other individuals were involved in this attack, but we caution this may change as our investigation is in its early stages.”
This was despite the declaration that “initial indications point to an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack, allegedly carried out by a father and son.”
Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot dead by police, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, who now faces 15 murder and 40 attempted murder charges, had hoisted an ISIS flag on the windshield of their Hyundai Elantra before the killing spree.
Mr Keelty, who ran the AFP from 2001 to 2009, also joined calls for a royal commission into the Bondi massacre, becoming the latest high-profile Australian to contradict Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s refusal to hold a full-scale investigation.
“We need a royal commission to examine every shred of evidence to determine how best to protect our community and ensure Australia does not slide into denial,” he said. “Bondi deserves more than procedural safeguards.”
Dennis Richardson, who previously ran the Department of Defense and Foreign Affairs and Trade, was tasked with reviewing ASIO and the AFP ahead of the Bondi attack.
Families of the 11 Jewish victims of the Bondi murders have called for a royal commission to also examine the role of rising anti-Semitism before the attacks.
“We, the families of those killed and injured in the Bondi Beach massacre, call on the Prime Minister to immediately establish a Commonwealth royal commission into the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 and the law enforcement, intelligence and policy failures that led to the Bondi Beach massacre,” they said.
Sheina Gutnick, whose father Reuven Morrison was killed after she threw an object at one of the gunmen in the Bondi terror attack, has joined the call for a royal commission.
“My father was murdered, leaving behind his wife, his daughter and his grandchildren,” he told Seven’s Sunrise program on Monday.
“Many families have been completely torn apart; grandparents, parents, children have just been taken from their families.
“This is something that affects us all in Australia and we know it’s something that doesn’t just happen.
“This is something that has been growing and festering in Australia for two and a half years.”
