PM considering calling a Bondi killings royal commission

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has opened the door to a federal royal commission into the Bondi shootings, pledging to do “everything that is possible” for national unity, as Labor MPs expect the government to back down on its previous objections to a national inquiry.

Three sources familiar with thinking at the top of the government, including some who have spoken directly with Albanese, said no decision had been made but the prime minister had indicated privately he was shifting on the issue and understood the need to back down on his firm stance that a rapid review helmed by former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson would be the better option.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail what they had learnt privately, said ministerial advisers were working on what a potential new inquiry would probe.

While they stressed nothing had been settled, options being canvassed include expanding the Richardson inquiry into intelligence agencies, collaborating more strongly with the NSW royal commission, or a standing up a new federal royal commission, which is the highest form of official inquiry. The sources believe the latter is most likely.

A group of Labor MPs has been pushing behind the scenes for a royal commission for weeks. “This is heading in one direction,” one government source said.

Albanese has withstood growing demands for three weeks for a federal inquiry coming from the opposition, lawyers, business figures and prominent sports stars, arguing that it would platform hate speech, risk delaying action and duplicate the state-based royal commission promised by NSW Premier Chris Minns.

But the prime minister appeared to lay the groundwork for a more ambitious inquiry when he was asked about the issue on Tuesday at a press conference in Cloncurry, Queensland, to announce flood relief.

While Albanese insisted the Richardson rapid review into intelligence failures was his main priority, he added “we’re continuing to examine everything else that is required”.

“I continue to be engaged with leaders in the Jewish community. I’m talking and meeting on a daily basis with people to make sure that we do everything that is possible to ... as I have said, what we need to do is to promote unity at this time, and that is my focus.”

Albanese said he was “talking to NSW” about how the state-based inquiry would run.

“We are engaged with the community as well as with the NSW government to make sure that we get done everything that is required to make sure we build social cohesion back in this country.”

He did not rule out launching a royal commission, or repeat his previous objections that it would take too long and hurt national unity.

Reports that the prime minister is shifting his thinking follow a change in language from Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Health Minister Mark Butler, who both emphasised this week that they respect the many calls for a royal commission.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley welcomed the apparent change in position but said that “words are no longer enough”.

“The prime minister has delayed, deflected and talked past those most affected for too long. If he proceeds now, he must do so on the terms of victims and families, not on his own political timetable,” she said in a statement.

Jenny Roytur, whose uncle Boris Tetleroyd was killed in the attack and whose cousin Yaakov was shot, said a royal commission was “the only way to go forward” but that she remained disappointed in the federal government.

“It’s been amazing, the support from the wider community. However, I have never been more disappointed in a government. They have sat on their hands,” she said. “We as family members feel completely let down and unsupported.”

Sheina Gutnick, whose father, Reuven Morrison, was killed throwing bricks at one of the shooters, said she was thrilled at the possibility a royal commission, and it was giving her community hope their concerns would be addressed.

“It’s unfortunate that at a time when we just wanted to grieve with our families that we had to be a loud voice within the community, and at the same time, we are so thankful for the other voices that stood up,” Gutnick said.

She called for Jewish Australians to be involved in the establishment of a potential commission.

The Coalition has released its own draft terms for a royal commission, saying it should probe 25 points that include the immigration system, cultural institutions, universities and the Australian Human Rights Commission. Albanese has previously rejected the Coalition’s terms of reference as unreasonable.

The Jewish Council of Australia, an organisation of Jewish Australians who support the Palestinian cause, had earlier on Tuesday supported calls for an investigation into the Bondi attack but warned against it being politicised.

Its executive officer, Sarah Schwartz, said any royal commission must “prioritise safety for all over culture wars”.

“Open hearings about protest movements and migrant policy, as some conservatives have called for, will make the Jewish community less safe, as well as other communities who face racism daily,” she said.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies were contacted for comment.

Former Labor frontbencher Mike Kelly, who had earlier signed his name to an open letter from Labor identities calling for a royal commission, said on Tuesday that Albanese should seize the opportunity as parliament returns in coming weeks.

“The government can then come out and say, look, we’ve heard what the community has to say. We’ve seen this new information, and we have decided now to act,” he said.

“And we will give them all the credit in the world for recognising that. We don’t want to attack anybody here. We just want our country to be safe.”

Kelly also warned that federal agencies and their employees would be reluctant to “fully open the kimono” to the NSW royal commission because it did not offer the same legal protections as a federal inquiry would.

“I know there are Commonwealth officers who will not want to speak fully and openly unless they have the legal protections of a Commonwealth royal commission,” he said.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.