‘We stand with Jewish Australians’: Albanese speaks in church as political recriminations mount
Updated ,first published
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said evil will not divide Australians at an interfaith memorial service at St Mary’s Cathedral on Wednesday night, but did not attend funerals of massacre victims as his leadership on antisemitism comes under increasing criticism from former Liberal leaders and the federal opposition.
In his six-minute speech, in which he described Sunday as “a dark day for our nation”, Albanese moved to defuse rising tensions as he called on Australians to support the Jewish community and ensure the country remains a “lens of light” in the wake of the tragedy.
“Let’s throw our arms around the Jewish community and make it clear with our words and actions that you are Australian. All Australians stand with you,” he said. “We stand with Australian Jews. You have the right to worship, to be educated, to work and to live in peace and security.
“You have the right to be proud of who you are and to be proud of the extraordinary contributions your community has made to Sydney and modern Australia over the generations.”
His speech came after a day in which the political divide widened further as sadness turned to anger, with former treasurer Josh Frydenberg intensifying the heat on the prime minister with a passionate speech calling on him to take personal responsibility for the deaths of 15 people at Bondi Beach and set up a royal commission.
Addressing Albanians through cameras, Frydenberg listed eight areas of action, from banning Islamic “hate preachers” to shutting down pro-Palestinian protests, stricter immigration criteria and an overhaul of the education system, and described the abandonment of Australia’s Jewish community.
With sometimes emotional and sometimes angry words, the former treasurer said, “Your government has failed us. You are sitting in a chair. It is time to earn this title. If you do not want to do the job, give it to someone who will.”
Mourners gathered in Bondi in the afternoon also directed their anger at Albanese. The grieving father of 10-year-old Matilda, who was killed on Sunday, talked about her last moments before attacking the government.
“I saw him coming down, I crawled over to him, took off my shirt and wrapped it around his waist. He was telling me it was hard to breathe. I was holding him,” said the man named Michael. “HE [Albanese] “He betrayed the Jewish people of Australia.”
At a sudden press conference outside St Vincent’s hospital on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister admitted his government needed to take stronger action on antisemitism; It was a message repeated throughout the day by his most senior ministers.
“We need to learn the lessons learned from this, take stronger action, undertake any legislative changes, undertake all powers, undertake additional powers generally needed to work with the Jewish community,” Albanese said.
“We want to eliminate antisemitism in our society. We also want to eliminate the evil ideology that, in the eyes of researchers, looks like an ISIS-inspired attack. This, this kind of hatred, has no place.”
But Liberal leader Sussan Ley has also stepped up pressure on the government, ruling out the possibility of bipartisanship in the wake of the shooting and instead stepping up criticism of the Coalition.
Ley went to the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, which Albanese did not attend. While the Prime Minister addressed mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in the Sydney CBD, Ley remained in Bondi throughout the evening, addressing the crowd and giving a speech.
“My message to you is that if I become prime minister and you practice hate speech, talk about radical Islam in a way that causes harm and pain to your friends, both male and female, glorify hatred and you are not an Australian citizen, you will be deported,” he said.
“And if you are an Australian citizen you will be arrested.”
Speaking in Bondi earlier in the day, he said Australian Jews looked at Albanians and “failed them, failed them every day”.
“to have [Albanese] Have you reassured the Jewish community? Here in Bondi? Did he walk the streets like us? Did he listen?
Wednesday’s funeral was attended by NSW Premier Chris Minns, former prime minister Scott Morrison and other Coalition dignitaries. Albanese said he would attend the events when he received the invitation earlier in the day.
Labor minister Chris Bowen said the prime minister was particularly focused on responding to the massacre. Albanese visited the shooting victims at the hospital Wednesday morning. He last visited Bondi on Monday morning when he left flowers.
Bowen told Sky News on Wednesday afternoon: “There have been public events. There have been private events. The Prime Minister has been speaking to victims and victims’ families. He has been to the site.” “It’s quite unfortunate that opposition members are making such partisan points.”
Rabbi Benjamin Elton, chief minister of the Great Synagogue, spoke at the same memorial service as Albanese on Wednesday night and called on the government to make a “clear and direct response” to the report by Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal.
“The first duty of a state is to protect its citizens, all its citizens, including Jewish citizens,” Elton said. “I have no doubt that our political leaders believe this as much as I do, but we must now see concrete steps being taken.”
Albanese’s promise to do more on antisemitism came a day after former prime minister John Howard condemned Albanese and Foreign Secretary Penny Wong on Tuesday for lacking leadership in their response to antisemitism since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Earlier Wednesday morning, Albanese sounded more defensive about his government’s performance. Speaking on ABC News Radio, Albanese shared a list of measures his government has enacted to protect Australian Jews, including banning the Nazi salute and appointing antisemitism ambassador Jillian Segal, but added “you can always do more”.
Wong and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles amplified their message in morning media coverage. “We have taken many actions, including criminalizing hate speech, but what I can tell you is that we all understand we need to do more. We are dedicating every resource necessary to make sure Australian Jews are safe and protected,” Wong told ABC Radio National.
Meanwhile, Marles told Seven: Sunrise: “We need to do more, we will do more. This is very clear. But as I said, this is not something that will be solved overnight.”
However, while Frydenberg held the prime minister responsible for the largest massacre of Jews outside Israel since October 7, 2023, he said that the government had been warned that it needed to take stronger steps on antisemitism.
“The Prime Minister has allowed Australia to radicalize on his watch… It is time for him to take personal responsibility for the deaths of 15 innocent people, including a 10-year-old child,” he said.
In the eight-point list, Frydenberg said the government should ban Muslim “hate preachers” and extremist organizations such as Hizb ut Tahrir. He said people who incite violence or fly flags linked to banned terrorist organizations should be prosecuted and pro-Palestinian protests should be stopped.
He called on the government to invest more in Holocaust education, which he said was fragmented in Australia, and to reform the education system to improve the teaching of Australian values. He also said the immigration system should be strengthened “to remind people that it is a privilege to come to this country.”
Finally, he said that the government should implement the antisemitism report presented in July and launch an investigation into the massacre and the rise of antisemitism in Australia.
Asked later on ABC 7.30 The former treasurer said he was “deeply offended” by whether his comments were political in nature, given that Frydenberg could return to office.
“The truth is that I am an Australian and treasurer of this country who has to have personal security because my life is at risk in this country. My children go to a school with armed guards outside,” he said.
“How can we live with this? Why should we live with this? So if I don’t talk, who will? If not now, when?”
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said he had great respect for Frydenberg. “I have no doubt about the intensity or sincerity of his views and we take them seriously. And he grieves and grieves, like many Australians, and we will take suggestions from him,” he said.
Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott added to a chorus of criticism on Wednesday with his own statement accusing the government of “hand-wringing impotence”.
“No hate preachers have been prosecuted or deported, and no hate marches have been banned, even though these marches went well beyond free speech or protests turning into acts of harassment and intimidation,” he said.
with Angus Dalton
Natassia Chrysanthos is a Federal Political Correspondent. He has previously reported on immigration, health, social issues and the NDIS from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect with: excitement or email.
Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
Nick Newling is the federal politics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
