Who has called for an antisemitism royal commission?

In the weeks since the December 14 Bondi shooting when 15 people were killed and more than 40 injured in an attack targeting the Jewish community at a Hanukkah festival, demands for a Commonwealth royal commission to investigate antisemitism have only increased.

Despite a constant flow of open-letters from Bondi victim families, prominent Australians, community groups, business leaders, legal experts and more, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stridently maintained the commission would not be the most appropriate response to the attack.

Here are the groups that have put their weight behind the proposed inquiry:

The families of Bondi victims and Jewish groups

Just two weeks after the attack, the families of 17 victims of the Bondi shooting penned an open-letter demanding a royal commission be established, and arguing the government had done “not nearly enough” since the shooting.

“We demand answers and solutions. We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how antisemitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to dangerously grow unchecked, and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward,” the letter read.

The families’ calls have been echoed by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Rabbinical Council of Australia and several other Jewish community organisations.

The federal opposition

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Nationals Leader David Littleproud have repeatedly called for a Commonwealth commission. Ley has accused Albanese of having something to hide by not calling a commission.

“The prime minister called for unity in the early days after the Bondi massacre. Today, we have unity. We have unity of purpose, and we have unity in a request for this Commonwealth royal commission,” Ley said on January 2.

Littleproud said on January 4: “I think the prime minister has become arrogant, ignorant, and now belligerent to what Australians want, in dealing with this, and I think he intends to bunker down in a lodge over summer and wait us out. The reality is, is that our nation needs to look at this atrocity. We have been violated in the most, atrocious way, and a Royal Commission at a federal level is the most important thing.”

Former senior Liberal figures have also weighed in, including former prime minister John Howard, former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, former foreign minister Julie Bishop and former attorney-general George Brandis, as well as three former Victorian premiers: Jeff Kennett, Ted Baillieu and Dennis Napthine.

Federal parliamentarians (including Labor MPs)

Alongside the support of the Coalition, many crossbench MPs have offered their support for a Commonwealth royal commission.

Teal independents Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Sophie Scamps, Nicolette Boele and Zali Steggall have all shared their support. They have been joined by independents Andrew Gee, David Pocock, Tammy Tyrrell, Andrew Wilkie and Rebekha Sharkie.

Two Sydney Labor MPs — Mike Freelander and Ed Husic — have also broken ranks to publicly support the proposed commission.

Labor figures

On Monday, January 5, 21 former Labor politicians, staffers and prominent party members signed an open letter arguing that only a federal inquiry could properly examine the “broader ecosystem of terror and hate” that led to the Bondi shootings.

Names on the letter included former federal frontbenchers Mike Kelly, Michael Danby, Bernie Ripoll and Peter Baldwin; former Labor MP and trade union boss Jennie George, Mary Easson, Kim Wilkie and Mike Symon, senators Mark Bishop, Michael Forshaw and Nova Peris; and former NSW and Victorian figures Michael Costa, Eric Roozendaal, Tony Lupton and Danielle Green.

Former Victorian Labor government ministers James Merlino and Phil Dalidakis have signed other petitions.

Former Olympians and sports stars

More than 60 Australian sports stars, including swimming legends Dawn Fraser, Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett, signed an open-letter demanding a royal commission.

Speaking at a press conference at Bondi Beach after the letter was signed, eight-time Olympic medallist Fraser said: “This is not a gun problem. This is not a one-off problem. This is an antisemitism problem that has been building and building, and our leaders have sat on their hands, too scared to say anything or do anything because, heavens forbid, they might be called racist”.

Business leaders

Facilitated by the Business Council of Australia, a letter calling for a Commonwealth royal commission was signed by more than 100 Australian business leaders including former Reserve Bank governors Philip Lowe and Glenn Stevens.

“Without sustainably safe and cohesive workplaces and communities, we cannot deliver prosperity for all Australians, which is the ultimate objective underpinning the advocacy and efforts of our organisations,” the group said in a statement.

Signatories include Woolworths chair Scott Perkins; BHP chair Ross McEwan; University of Sydney chancellor David Thodey; former Coca-Cola Amatil boss Alison Watkins; and former AustralianSuper chief executive Ian Silk.

Legal, defence and security experts

More than 200 prominent barristers and former judges have penned a letter calling for a royal commission, including former Victorian Supreme Court judge Jack Rush and former NSW Supreme Court justice George Palmer.

Among the list of signatories was former Victorian Supreme Court judge Betty King, who presided over many of the Melbourne gangland trials, and former Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Ian Temby.

The Law Council of Australia on Tuesday, January 6 also backed calls for a royal commission into antisemitism.

Another letter was published on January 7, from 32 senior defence and security experts, including former governor-general and defence force chief David Hurley, and the former head of strategic command, Rear Admiral Peter Briggs.

Other influential voices

A raft of other individuals and small groupings have backed a federal inquiry, including the government-appointed human rights commissioner Lorraine Finlay, Christchurch councillor Raf Manji who worked with victims during the New Zealand royal commission into the mass shootings that targeted the city’s Muslim community, and the family of a victim of the 2014 Lindt Cafe siege.

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