‘You owe us answers’: Families of Bondi victims demand PM launch federal royal commission
Calls for a Commonwealth inquiry into the rise of antisemitism and other security failings that have affected the Jewish community are escalating.
The call from the families, who represent most of those killed in the attack, follows pressure on the federal government not only from Albanese’s political opponents but also from security experts, former heads of intelligence services and the family of Katrina Dawson, who was killed in the Lindt cafe siege in 2014.
A former royal commissioner has also supported the idea, while 139 eminent legal figures, including a former chief justice and multiple judges signed an open letter in support last week. A call for a Commonwealth royal commission also received a rousing cheer at the vigil marking a week since the Bondi massacre.
About half of voters surveyed back the idea of a royal commission into antisemitism, a Resolve Political Monitor poll showed last week: 48 per cent said they supported one, while 34 per cent were unsure or neutral and 17 per cent were opposed.
In their statement, the Bondi victims’ families ask how Albanese could not support a royal commission into the “deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil” when they had been held into banks and aged care.
“We have lost parents, spouses, children, and grandparents,” the families said.
“Our loved ones were celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach, a festival of light and joy, in an iconic public space that should have been safe.
“You owe us answers. You owe us accountability. And you owe Australians the truth.”
Police patrolling Bondi Beach near tributes to those killed and injured in the shooting.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Albanese has been resisting a royal commission, instead focusing on a short inquiry headed by former Defence Department secretary Dennis Richardson into federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to see if they need new powers.
He has said a full royal commission would take years, noting that the Coalition’s own proposed inquiry would have more than 100 separate areas of investigation.
Federal Local Government Minister Kristy McBain said on Sunday that the government wanted a speedy response to the Bondi tragedy. She said Richardson had been given until April to report on the nation’s security laws.
“We’ve given him a short timeline to actually come back to us with some answers on how [the shooters] were radicalised, what methods were used, and how we can continue to combat antisemitism, as well as the response of our agencies, including ASIO and the AFP and how they worked with the NSW police force,” she said.