Anthony Albanese has defended the weeks it took him to call a royal commission into anti-Semitism and the Bondi Beach massacre, insisting his Government had to take the time to get the inquiry right.
The Prime Minister late on Thursday announced former High Court judge Virginia Bell would lead a Royal Commission into Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion, to report by the first anniversary of the attack on December 14.
A planned NSW inquiry was dropped as Premier Chris Minns pledged to cooperate fully with the Commonwealth one, while a review of intelligence and security agencies will be rolled into the Bell commission.
The decision came after more than a fortnight of mounting pressure from Jewish leaders, the Opposition and prominent community members.
“We needed to get the right commissioner, the right terms of reference, in the right time frame, because we can’t afford to not get this right,” Mr Ablanese told Sunrise on Friday morning.
“It’s essential for bringing the nation together in national unity and building social cohesion while we tackle the evil scourge that is anti-Semitism.
“What we did do was to act immediately on the things that were required, that were the immediate priorities. The immediate priority was, are there any national security issues arising from this?”
He said it had been “a record time for the calling of a royal commission” after suggestions for one were first aired.
Mr Albanese said on Thursday he changed his mind about the need for a Commonwealth royal commission after many discussions with the Jewish community, including families of the 15 victims of the terror attack.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said there were many different views in the community, but the families and those impacted had made it clear they wanted their voices to be heard.
She said the Federal Government gave its support to NSW by starting to draw up terms of reference after Mr Minns said about three weeks ago that his State would hold an inquiry.
“Obviously we turned our minds as a government to what those terms of reference would be in terms of assisting NSW in that regard. So certainly, this has been an area that we have been focused on for some time,” Ms Rowland told ABC radio.
“As the Prime Minister has, exactly as he said, reached his view that this royal commission is the right format, the right duration, and has the right terms of reference to deliver the right outcome for our national unity, our national security, we were able to draw on as a government those thinkings that we have had in that time.”
https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/bondi-royal-commission-albanese-defends-time-taken-to-call-inquiry-into-terror-attack-and-anti-semitism-c-21253197
