‘I’ve taken the time to reflect’: Anthony Albanese bows to intense pressure, announces antisemitism royal commission

An unprecedented royal commission will probe the explosion of antisemitism and a deterioration in social cohesion following the worst terror attack in the nation’s history after the federal government caved to three weeks of fierce calls from the victims’ families, public figures, the opposition and some within Labor to hold a federal inquiry.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stared down last-minute resistance from prominent Jewish Australians, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, by appointing former High Court justice Virginia Bell to lead the national inquiry, who has been asked to complete her inquiry and report by the end of the year.

He said the inquiry would address four key areas: investigating the nature and prevalence of antisemitism; making recommendations to assist law enforcement or to control immigration and security agencies to tackle antisemitism; examining the circumstances surrounding the Bondi terrorist attack on December 14; and examining ways to strengthen social cohesion and counter the spread of ideological and religiously motivated extremism in Australia.

“I’ve taken the time to reflect, to meet with leaders in the Jewish community, and most importantly, I’ve met with many of the families of victims and survivors of that horrific attack,” Albanese said after constantly rejecting calls for weeks to hold a national inquiry. “They’ve had their lives and worlds shattered ... I’ve shed tears with them. I want to thank people for those honest and open-hearted conversations.”

He said it became clear to him that a federal royal commission was needed into the broader issue rather that a NSW-based inquiry because antisemitism was not confined between “the Tweed River and the Murray”. Following Albanese’s announcement, the NSW government confirmed its planned inquiry would no longer proceed.

Albanese said the inquiry would not be “a drawn-out process”, and the government has asked Bell to deliver her final report before December 14. The commissioner has also been directed not to prejudice any future criminal proceedings against 24-year-old gunman Naveed Akram, who faces 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder.

Pressed later on whether the backdown had made him appear weak, Albanese told the ABC’s 7.30: “I think that people expressing their views is a good thing. Governments should be open to listening, and we have done that.”

Despite refusing to publicly commit to a royal commission in the weeks since the terror attack, Albanese said the government had been working on the details of the royal commission for some time.

The government was determined to avoid a “half-hearted” announcement of intention that only fuelled more speculation, he said.

Former senior public servant Dennis Richardson’s existing work examining the roles of the security and intelligence agencies will be incorporated into the commission. Richardson will support Bell’s inquiry and deliver an interim report by April.

The Islamic State-inspired attack on a Jewish festival event at Bondi on December 14 left 15 people dead and more than 40 injured.

Hitting out at critics within his own left-wing political base, who believe the role of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip in October 2023 are to blame for the uptick in antisemitic acts and violence, Albanese said he was determined that he wanted to build social cohesion, and not tear it apart.

“I don’t want a royal commission into whether we provide a solution on Gaza or on the Middle East,” he said.

“That’s not the role of a royal commission ... Australians want two things. When it comes to the Middle East, they want it to stop – they want peace for Israelis and Palestinians. But the other thing that they want is for conflict to not be brought here.”

The commission will also examine the adequacy of law enforcement, border, immigration and security agency responses to antisemitism and make recommendations to strengthen social cohesion and counter ideological and religious radicalisation.

Albanese said Bell’s experience would allow the commission to meaningfully examine the impact of antisemitism on the daily lives of Jewish Australians without providing a platform for hatred.

“This royal commission is the right format, the right duration and the right terms of reference to deliver the right outcome for our national unity and our national security,” Albanese said.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley criticised Albanese for taking three weeks to agree to hold a federal investigation, saying: “This will forever be the Commonwealth royal commission Anthony Albanese was forced to have. Few issues in Australian history have united such a broad and credible coalition against a sitting prime minister.”

Ley said the decision to appoint a single commissioner showed Albanese still failed “to grasp the gravity of the issues at stake”.

The Coalition had called for three royal commissioners to be appointed: a former judge, a person with lived experience of antisemitism and a national security expert.

Frydenberg, now chairman of Goldman Sachs Australia, said following the announcement that the commission must be fiercely independent, rigorous, trusted and transparent.

“The bar is high. The stakes are higher,” he said in a post on X. “It is a tragic reality that antisemitism has become normalised in Australia. It is a cancer that must be rooted out.”

The Zionist Federation of Australia welcomed the establishment of the royal commission as a “necessary and important step” and praised the scope of its terms of reference.

“The work now is to ensure the commission is able to examine all relevant issues fully and rigorously, so it can follow the evidence wherever it leads and deliver practical reforms that strengthen the safety and wellbeing of Jewish Australians and the broader community,” the federation’s president, Jeremy Liebler, said.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry President Daniel Aghion said the government had made the right decision by heeding the calls made by the Jewish community and the families affected by the shootings.

“We are especially grateful to the eminent artists, lawyers, business leaders, sporting legends, political figures, women’s organisations and other groups who added their powerful voices to this call.”

Aghion said the executive council would cooperate fully Bell with as commissioner and “make every effort to ensure that the full force of the community’s views and experiences of antisemitism in various sectors of society are brought to the forefront of the inquiry”.

Jewish leaders had earlier warned Albanese against appointing Bell amid concerns over her previous High Court ruling in favour of public protest as an act of political expression, while others said she could be viewed as an overly political choice after Labor appointed her in 2022 to probe Scott Morrison’s multiple ministries.

Asked directly about the criticisms of Bell, Albanese said there had been a range of views but there was “no one of the stature of Virginia Bell”, adding her background in the criminal law would be critical, and she was “widely respected right across the board”.

A Jewish community leader said that, while there had been some disquiet about Bell’s perceived close ties to Labor, criticism of the government’s response to the Bondi massacre would simmer down. “Now the decision has been made, everyone will do their best to support it,” the community leader said.

Albanese had been subjected to three weeks of pressure both publicly and, increasingly, internally after he suggested a royal commission was not best placed to deal with national security issues and risked giving a platform to antisemitic hate speech.

After several interventions, he this week changed his message, opening the door to calls for a royal commission which had come from the families of Bondi victims, national and state Jewish community groups, more than 200 senior members of the Australian Bar, more than 100 captains of industry, the Business Council of Australia, the Law Council of Australia, Catholic bishops, prominent sports stars and three Labor backbenchers.

Albanese said Israeli President Isaac Herzog was still formally invited to visit the country in coming weeks despite opposition from pro-Palestinian advocates in Labor’s rank and file.

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