Frydenberg claims Albanese should accept ‘personal responsibility’ for Bondi attacks in escalation of rhetoric | Bondi beach terror attack

Former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg claimed Anthony Albanese was personally responsible for the deaths of 15 people in the Bondi terror attack, while the prime minister described the crime as “perverse ideology, terrorist ideology”.

The comments were part of an escalating political discourse on Wednesday when the New South Wales premier said his government would impose new restrictions on protests that he said would “tear our society apart”.

Frydenberg accused the prime minister of “failing” Australia’s Jewish community over the Bondi terror attack. His comments come as there are cracks in the bipartisan response to the attack, with former Coalition colleagues demanding an urgent recall of federal parliament to toughen immigration rules.

While the federal Labor government focused its immediate response to the terror attacks on possible gun reforms, leading Coalition figures rejected calls to restrict firearms, claiming Albanese was trying to “distract” from antisemitism.

In an emotional speech at the Bondi Pavilion site, Frydenberg said, “Our governments have failed every Australian in combating hatred and anti-Semitism. Our Prime Minister, our government, has allowed Australia to radicalize on its watch.”

“It is time for our Prime Minister to accept personal responsibility for the deaths of 15 innocent people, including a 10-year-old child. It is time for our Prime Minister to accept responsibility for what happened here.”

Shortly after Frydenberg’s speech, NSW premier Chris Minns announced his government’s plan to further restrict terrorism protests and expand the grounds on which police can refuse applications for public demonstrations. The state parliament will be recalled next week and legislation is expected to be rushed.

Australia’s constitution contains an implied right to freedom of political communication and Minns acknowledged potential constitutional problems with the proposal, saying the new law would need to be “prepared in a certain way”. He could not confirm how long protest restrictions would remain in place after he was identified as a terrorist.

After speaking with members of the Jewish community, Minns said large protests would “tear our community apart” and expressed concerns about “a combustible situation and community cohesion.”

But while Minns was particularly alarmed about “protests related to international events,” he said the law would not target any one group.

The Minns government had previously refused to allow Sydney’s Palestine Action Group to cross the Harbor Bridge in August; This decision was later overturned by the high court.

“I think it would be a terrible situation to see a mass demonstration when it’s a terrible situation where so many people are being murdered and murdered just because of their religious beliefs,” Minns said Wednesday.

The federal parliament is not scheduled to meet until February, but while there are no current plans to immediately recall MPs, government sources have not ruled out an early return to Canberra if necessary. The Federal Coalition is demanding that parliament meet before Christmas to legislate parts of antisemitism ambassador Jillian Segal’s report; National Party leader David Littleproud has called for urgent action on a recommendation for increased screening of immigrants for extremist or antisemitic views.

Frydenberg, who lost the Victorian seat of Kooyong in the 2022 election, demanded the government “ban hate preachers”, prosecute people chanting “river to sea” and waving Hezbollah or Hamas flags at protests, and a general ban on pro-Palestinian protests, which he claimed had become “incubators of hate”.

The former Liberal MP also called for greater investment in antisemitism and Holocaust education, stricter immigration controls for immigrants and a royal commission into antisemitism and the Bondi attack. He also criticized Labor for allowing migrants to arrive from Gaza.

There is currently no indication of any connection between the pro-Palestinian protests and the alleged perpetrators of the Bondi terrorist attack. Sajid Akram came to Australia from India in 1998, when John Howard was prime minister, and his son Naveen was born in Australia. Guardian Australia reported that the processing time for arrivals from Gaza was much longer than Coalition members claimed.

Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said he respected Frydenberg’s views but Labor had taken action on antisemitism and would continue to do so.

“The government takes the scourge of antisemitism seriously and we have already taken some important steps. But we have all agreed that further steps need to be taken and more steps will be taken. We will consider any reasonable proposals for these additional steps,” he said.

“[Frydenberg]Like many Australians, he grieves and grieves. “We will take any suggestions from him or other members of the community very seriously.”

Albanese on Wednesday condemned the “perverted ideology, the ideology of terrorism” of the attackers and criticized “this perversion of Islam that led them to support the Islamic State.”

“As you pointed out, it is really difficult to legislate against this much hatred,” he said at a press conference.

“They’re bad. We have to make sure we do what’s in our power.”

Albanese reiterated the need for gun reforms and the need to move faster to respond to Segal’s report. The government has not said which parts of its recommendations it will approve or reject, but the Coalition is calling for them to be implemented in their entirety.

Littleproud and other Coalition members rejected or questioned the need for gun reform measures; He called for a focus on antisemitism instead, while some in the opposition also called for stricter rules on immigration.

Littleproud told the ABC: “The problem wasn’t the existing gun laws. It was the people using the guns and bombs.”

Former nationals leader Michael McCormack told Sky News: “I don’t think firearms laws need to change.”

But opposition leader Sussan Ley said the Coalition would examine any proposals and conceded there were “issues that need to be addressed” while downplaying the national cabinet’s arms reform plan as a “scheme of plans”.

“We cannot allow gun control to be an excuse for this issue … because if you have hatred of Jews in your heart, you will find an instrument of terror,” he said.