Prominent Australian business leaders and public figures have joined calls for a federal royal commission into antisemitism following the Bondi terror attack, adding pressure on the Albanese government as it resists a national inquiry.
Among the more than 100 signatories to an open letter, published on Friday, are former Reserve Bank governors Philip Lowe and Glenn Stevens, alongside a broad cross-section of business figures and university chancellors.
Former Reserve Bank governor Phil Lowe, prominent businesswoman Paula Dwyer and Alex Vynokur from BetaShares were among the business leaders who signed the petition. Credit: Matthew Absalom-Wong
The list includes former Coca-Cola Amatil boss Alison Watkins, now chancellor of the University of Tasmania; former AustralianSuper chief executive Ian Silk; recent Slater and Gordon chair James MacKenzie; former Tennis Australia chair and ex-Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka; University of Sydney chancellor David Thodey; former Macquarie boss Nicholas Moore; former Optus chair Paul O’Sullivan; former Tabcorp chair Paula Dwyer; current BHP chair Ross McEwan; and Woolworths chair Scott Perkins.
“This is a national crisis, which requires a national response. This goes beyond politics, it’s about the future of our country,” the open letter says.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly ruled out a federal royal commission but said the Commonwealth would co-operate with a NSW-led inquiry announced by Premier Chris Minns. He said his opposition was based on expert advice that a national inquiry would be lengthy and potentially divisive by giving a platform for “the worst voices”.
Supporters of the push describe it as a non-partisan, civic initiative aimed at providing national clarity and a constructive path forward following the December 14 attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration. The attack was Australia’s deadliest terrorist incident.
Others who have put their names to the open letter include respected public servant Ian Watt, a former head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet; former Labor Victorian deputy premier James Merlino; ex-Australian Workers’ Union boss Paul Howes; and Simon Sheikh, the former national director of progressive campaigning organisation Get Up.
“As business leaders and proud Australians committed to upholding our values of tolerance and mutual respect, we recognise the need for clear answers as to how the Bondi massacre could occur, and for practical solutions to restore social cohesion and protect the safety of all Australians,” the letter says. “We must end the unprecedented harassment, intimidation and violence directed at the Australian Jewish community since October 7, 2023.”
Peter Tonagh, who chairs Nine – the owner of The Age – and News Corp Australia executive Michael Miller are also signatories, along with former executive chairman of Crown Resorts James Packer.
Albanese said on Thursday that people were entitled to their views but “we’ve made our position clear”.
Betashares founder Alex Vynokur.Credit: Renee Nowytarger
Also backing the call is Alex Vynokur, founder and chief executive of Betashares Financial Group, who said Australia had given his family safety and opportunity after they emigrated from Ukraine in 1994.
“Our country has done a lot for me and I’ve always considered myself blessed to feel at home here, and have always tried my best to reciprocate and to make a positive contribution,” Vynokur, who helped recruit signatories, said.
“As a Jewish family that survived pogroms, persecution and ghettos, we arrived in Australia seeking safety, a fair go, and an opportunity to build a life. We arrived with very little, but from the moment we landed in Sydney, I was welcomed.”
Vynokur said conditions had deteriorated sharply since the Hamas attacks on Israel two years ago.
“I believe now is the time for our government to show real leadership and take urgent, tangible steps to identify the circumstances leading to the Bondi terrorist attack, to unify the community, and make Australia safe for all Australians,” he said.
Prominent company director Paula Dwyer said it was not a political issue but a matter of profound national importance.
“The reasons behind the killing of 15 innocent people at a Jewish celebration – and indeed behind the growing incidence of antisemitism across Australia – deserve the highest form of independent public inquiry,” she said.
Michael Rozenes, a former Commonwealth director of public prosecutions, said Albanese could not look the other way and be “blindsided” by the antisemitism that had arisen in Australia.
“As an immigrant where Australia was chosen as a safe haven having survived the Holocaust, one understands the danger of radicalism ... Australians need to have full knowledge of the failings in Bondi,” he said. “This is not only an antisemitic issue but a much wider problem for all Australians.”
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On New Year’s Eve, Australia’s human rights commissioner became the first current government-appointed official to publicly back demands for the highest form of federal inquiry. In a statement posted on LinkedIn, Lorraine Finlay said existing reviews were insufficient to grapple with the underlying causes of the violence.
The Bondi terrorist attack was driven by antisemitism, she wrote.
“Confronting that directly must be a national priority. A federal royal commission is essential to fully understand what has happened and ensure it never happens again.”
Former chief of army Peter Leahy joined other national security experts on Thursday including former Defence Force chief and governor-general Peter Cosgrove; former ASIS chief and Defence Department secretary Nick Warner; former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty; and former Department of Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo in backing a royal commission.
Asked at a press conference on the NSW Central Coast which experts advised the federal government not to hold a royal commission, Albanese first identified former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson, who will lead a rapid government inquiry into intelligence failures before the terrorist attack, and then said, “I’ve spoken about the people who advise the government, the heads of all of the authorities.”
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Asked if the heads of ASIO, ASIS and the Australian Federal Police had warned against a royal commission, the prime minister said he meant “we take advice from all of our agencies and all of the experts”.
Robert Richter, KC, one of Australia’s most prominent criminal defence barristers, emerged earlier this week as the most vocal opponent of a Commonwealth-led royal commission.
“The tragedy at Bondi was the result of a stuff-up by ASIO in not red-flagging the man for overseas travel or anything of the kind, red-flagging his father,” Richter said. “It was a complete stuff-up by a combination of ASIO, the federal police, NSW Police and border control. We don’t need a royal commission for that.”
Liberal leader Sussan Ley, who was briefed by intelligence and security bosses in Canberra on Thursday, said Albanese’s claim that he was advised by “actual experts” against holding a royal commission was not substantiated.
“Australians are seeing evasion from their prime minister,” she said. “What is Anthony Albanese hiding?”
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference also lent its support to a broader, national inquiry without using the term royal commission.
Timothy Costelloe, the archbishop of Perth and president of the conference, said it was important to confront antisemitism in Australia in “the dark corners of our society” – including its politics, business, academia, media and religious and cultural institutions.
“For that reason, alongside the Richardson review, some form of wider, national inquiry with sufficient authority and resourcing which can probe into the deeper issues which lie at the heart of antisemitism is needed,” he said.
