Tony Burke defends lack of royal commission into Bondi terror attack
As pressure mounts on Anthony Albanese to set up a royal commission into the Bondi terror attack, the Home Secretary insists on his stance that the Government’s actions were sufficient to examine the lead-up to the massacre.
Tony Burke said he “completely understands” demands for a royal commission, but warned Australians could have to wait years for answers if the government chooses to go that route.
Instead of a royal commission, the government has announced an independent review led by Dennis Richardson AC, which will examine the actions of Australia’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies leading up to the attack.
“We need answers and we need them fast,” Mr Burke told the ABC.
“…this report will be prepared by April. I wish it had been sooner, but certainly a royal commission to look into this would have had a much longer timeline and the person responsible for it would not have had the expertise that we have with Dennis Richards.”
Mr Burke’s comments came a day after families of 17 people injured or killed in the terror attack signed an open letter calling for a royal commission into the “failures” that led to the attack.
“We demand answers and solutions,” they wrote.
“We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how anti-Semitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to grow dangerously unchecked, and what changes need to be made to protect all Australians in the future.”
Mr Burke said Mr Richardson’s review would examine what factors were overlooked by authorities in preparation for the attack and what needed to change in the future to prevent another attack from occurring.
“In terms of his powers, he is guaranteed full cooperation and full cooperation with our institutions,” Mr. Burke said.
“He will get the information he needs. He will get the interviews he needs to have and then he will be able to report and report back quickly. Royal commissions can take years to be commissioned.”
Mr Burke also defended the steps the Government has already taken to prevent the spread of hate speech across the country and said they would go further in the coming months.
The Albanian Government is seeking to toughen hate speech laws and crack down on Islamic preachers who spread hatred on Australian soil; This includes developing a federal crime for those who commit serious racial slurs or advocate racial supremacy.
“We’ve all seen videos of hate preachers who represent a small minority in this country but have terrible views. We look at them and say, how come they’re allowed to say this?” Mr. Burke said.
“They have been on the right side of the law in Australia, which is why we are changing the law so that this type of hate speech is illegal.”
