‘We need to know’: Bondi victims’ families demand federal royal commission from PM | Bondi beach terror attack

Families of Australian Jews killed in the Bondi attack have demanded that Anthony Albanese establish a Commonwealth royal commission to investigate antisemitism and law enforcement questions surrounding the terror attack that killed 15 people.

Relatives of the 11 victims killed in the Hanukkah incident on Bondi beach on December 14 say in an open letter to the prime minister that Jewish families do not feel safe in schools, at work, at home and in public spaces.

They called on the federal government to launch a robust investigation into the shooting, which Albanese opposes.

“We demand answers and solutions,” the letter said. “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.

“The statements made so far by the federal government in response to the Bondi massacre are not sufficient.”

Emotional appeals from families of many of Bondi’s victims are adding weight to growing calls for a comprehensive federal royal commission into the terror attack, including questions on intelligence, law enforcement and firearms laws.

One of the alleged shooters, Naveed Akram, who is accused of dozens of crimes, including 15 murders, was investigated by Asio in October 2019 for his alleged involvement with alleged members of the Islamic State cell. His father was later approved for a gun permit.

The Federal Coalition opposition and others in the federal parliament have backed calls from Jewish community groups for an investigation into the wider problem of antisemitism in Australia.

Albanese has so far resisted such calls and said federal authorities would co-operate with a royal commission ordered by the New South Wales state government, calling instead for a narrow investigation into national intelligence and law enforcement led by former Asio chief Dennis Richardson.

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The Prime Minister said the federal royal commission would take too long and he wanted quicker answers about changes needed to intelligence or police services.

But the open letter argues that “the rise of antisemitism in Australia goes far beyond the jurisdiction of a single state, it is a national crisis that requires a strong national response.”

“Prime Minister, how could you not support a royal commission into the deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil? Royal commissions have been established into banks and aged care,” the letter says. “We lost our parents, our spouses, our children, our grandparents.

“You owe us answers. You owe us responsibility. And you owe Australians the truth.”

Former Labor MP Mike Kelly, who convenes meetings of the Labor Friends of Israel group, told ABC Radio on Monday that a royal commission was needed.

“This needs to be done at the state level,” he said. “It is not possible for a NSW commission to force state officials and conduct a deeper dive into confidential material that those agencies may not be prepared to disclose to the fully NSW process.”

The Bondi families say Australian Jews have “been subjected to continuous attacks for more than two and a half years”.

“Our children do not feel safe at school and university. Our homes, workplaces, sports fields and public spaces no longer feel safe. This is an intolerable situation that no Australian should have to endure.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud called on Albanese to change his mind on Monday.

“The Prime Minister is, at best, deaf to a grieving nation and grieving families,” he told Channel Nine’s Today programme. “And they deserve answers, and he can’t belittle them. He needs to open up about this.”

“Unless you have a Commonwealth royal commission, you can’t force federal agencies to work with state agencies and present all the evidence.”

As of Monday morning, there were nine patients injured in the shooting in Sydney hospitals; three of them were in critical but stable condition.