Albanese says security agency chiefs were the experts who advised against a royal commission

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted that the heads of Australia’s national security agencies have all backed his decision to not call a royal commission into antisemitism and the Bondi shootings, despite mounting calls from the victims’ families, the Jewish community and more than 200 barristers and former judges.

When asked at a press conference on the Central Coast which experts advised the government not to hold a royal commission, Albanese first identified former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson, who will helm a rapid government inquiry into intelligence failures before the alleged terrorist attack, and then said, “I’ve spoken about the people who advise the government, the heads of all of the authorities”.

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”.

On Tuesday, a day after 17 families of Bondi victims released an open letter pleading for a national inquiry into antisemitism, the prime minister insisted his decision to stick to the Richardson inquiry was informed by advice from “actual experts”, but he declined to name them.

Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke have insisted their decision was informed by advice that a royal commission would showcase hate speech and antisemitism, proving too divisive and dangerous for national unity.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett on Tuesday declined to answer when asked if she thought a royal commission would damage national unity and security, saying only “it was a matter for the government”.

But Australia’s human rights commissioner has disagreed with Albanese, becoming the first government-appointed official to publicly back demands for the highest form of federal inquiry.

In a statement posted on LinkedIn on New Year’s Eve, Lorraine Finlay said existing reviews were insufficient to grapple with the underlying causes of the violence.

“The Richardson review will examine our national security framework. But understanding the deeper causes of violence is critical. 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.”

The Islamic State-inspired Bondi attack on a Hanukkah celebration, which left 15 dead and more than 40 hospitalised, has prompted renewed debate about antisemitism and national security, with Jewish community leaders arguing that only a federal royal commission can fully examine ideological drivers, institutional failures and the broader social conditions that enabled the violence.

Finlay, appointed by the Morrison government in November 2021 for a five-year term, was previously a law lecturer at Murdoch University, who had also worked as a senior human trafficking specialist with the Australian Mission to ASEAN and as a state prosecutor at the WA Director of Public Prosecutions.

Her appointment drew some criticism at the time because she was previously a Liberal Party candidate for the West Australian parliament and president of the state’s Liberal Women’s Council.

She has been contacted for comment. In an opinion piece published in The West Australian last month, Finlay argued that law enforcement responses alone would not be enough to defeat antisemitism.

“We also need visible leadership. Political and community leaders must speak with clarity and courage, rejecting inflammatory rhetoric and modelling respect. Interfaith initiatives and civic programs can help rebuild trust and remind us that diversity is not a threat – it is extremism that threatens our safety.”

“These steps matter because antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem – it is an Australian problem. It corrodes the social fabric that binds us together as Australians. If we fail to act decisively now, we risk normalising hatred in ways that will haunt future generations.”

Speaking on ABC radio on Thursday, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the response to the Bondi attack was comprehensive, with four processes under way - a criminal case, a NSW royal commission, the Richardson review into intelligence and security agencies and the implementation of recommendations from the government’s antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal.

“The prime minister’s position around this, supported by all of us who have been working with him on it, is that we need urgent action now, urgent response now, and that’s what these four processes will do, including the Richardson inquiry, which will report at the end of April,” she said.

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