RECAP: Bondi Royal Commission’s 14 interim recommendations released, ‘burning questions’ fear raised

We are wrapping up another day of our live coverage of the war in the Middle East and the Royal Commission into the Bondi massacre.

Thank you for following our blog updates. Join us again tomorrow as we bring you the latest events as they happen.

One week before the Bondi massacre the Jewish community told the NSW police that a terrorist attack was likely and requested armed police officers to protect the Chanukah by the Sea event, where 16 people died in a terrorist attack on December 14.

In the days before, a police inspector told a subordinate to “take a car crew or two with you and provide a HVP [high-visibility policing] presence. No need to stay the entire duration, but your presence will ensure the community feel safe.”

Three junior police officers and one supervisor were sent to a park overlooking Bondi Beach, where hundreds fled for their lives when gunmen opened fire on Jews celebrating the Festival of Lights, according to the first report from the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

The 159-page document published today provides the first detailed account of how the police responded to requests from a Jewish organisation, the Community Security Group, for protection during one of the holiest days on the Jewish religious calendar.

Read the full story here.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the royal commission’s interim report was a “sobering reading”, adding that the terror attack was “incubated in hatred”.

“This is sobering but important reading,” Mr Minns said to media outside the state paliament house on Thursday afternoon.

“This was incubated in hatred and this has to be a part of the conversation.”

Mr Minns also said his government takes responsibility for failing to protect the public.

“The reality is for a state government, the highest responsibility is to protect people and on December the 14th last year we didn’t do that,” he said.

“We take responsibility for that today.”

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon thanked first responders for their bravery on December 14, saying the report’s recommendations will ensure the force improves moving forward.

“We have and will continue to work with the royal commission and we are committed to implementing any recommendations,” Mr Lanyon said.

The Jewish Board of Deputies has responded to the findings of the royal commission’s interim report, with its president acknowledging “the seriousness and care with which the Commission has approached its work”.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said the findings confirmed fears that the Jewish community held for “some time” and warned the public of in the lead-up to the terror attack.

“We note in particular the Commission’s recognition that the threat environment had deteriorated markedly in the lead-up to the attack, and that this risk had been clearly identified at the highest levels of Australia’s intelligence and security agencies,” Mr Ossip said in a statement.

“The environment for Jewish Australians had been deteriorating well before Bondi.”

Mr Ossip also acknowledged the recommendations in the report were “practical steps” towards tackling anti-Semitism.

Australian motorists face higher fuel prices again that would wipe out the benefits of a temporary tax halving after crude oil prices soared to $US120 a barrel, sparking a Federal Government warning about surging construction costs.

The spot price of Brent crude is back to levels last seen in 2022, following Russia’s Ukraine invasion, after traders lost hope that US President Donald Trump would be able to reach a peace agreement with Iran, as the war enters its third month.

“It’s the removal of the assumption that there will be a quick fix in the Middle East,” Moomoo chief executive and strategist Michael McCarthy told The Nightly.

“The markets, from the get-go, have assumed that this would be over very quickly and now that we’re sort of hitting the third month of this conflict, oil traders have had to recognise reality that disruption to supply is now being compounded by the fact that many oil-producing nations in the Middle East have reached the limits of their storage capacity so they’re going to have to start shutting down production.”

The two per cent surge in crude oil prices, during Wednesday night trade, is occurring four weeks after the Federal Government halved fuel excise to 26.3 cents a litre until the end of June.

Read the full story here.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has hosed down speculation that his upcoming Budget will score a big revenue boost from tax reform and the Middle East war.

The conflict in Iran and closure of key a oil and gas route through the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up petroleum prices and forced inflation higher. Consumer prices surged 4.6 per cent in the 12 months to March thanks partly to petrol costs.

Higher commodity prices would be expected to push up company tax revenue, while inflation will over time drive bracket creep — with families pushed into higher income tax brackets as their pay keeps up with cost of living.

Read the full story.

Alex Ryvchin has raised concerns about police resourcing and a growing reluctance among Jewish Australians to come forward ahead of public hearings into the Bondi attack.

Speaking on the ABC, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief pointed to scrutiny in the interim report over the limited police presence at a Hanukkah event despite warnings of a potential attack.

“Well, it is clearly a concerning issue,” he said.

“On the face of it, it seems like this was not adequately done.”

Ryvchin said there must be accountability for how those decisions were made, not only for the community, but for officers themselves.

“We need to understand why those resourcing decisions were made, whether they were made at the right level of seniority, and what can be done in future to ensure that when you have a vulnerability like this, the challenge is met by the police and people aren’t left exposed and vulnerable.”

He also warned of a “sad state of affairs” where some Jewish Australians feel too afraid to give evidence.

“I think it’s a sad state of affairs where people feel like they can’t come forward,” he said.

Ryvchin said that fear reflects broader experiences over recent years.

“Too often it’s met with denial, victim blaming, gaslighting, inadequate action, and so you have this lack of confidence in institutions.”

Despite this, he urged people to participate in the inquiry, calling it a rare opportunity for change.

“This is a generational opportunity for the Jewish community.”

“I would urge all Jewish Australians and non Jewish Australians as well … to use this opportunity and to come forward. We are with them. We’ll embrace them. They won’t be alone.”

With the final report due in December, Ryvchin said the focus must remain on addressing antisemitism and restoring safety.

“We need to ensure that Jewish Australians feel safe again … We are proud Australians, and we deserve this treatment of equality.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Alex Ryvchin says key questions remain unanswered following the release of the Bondi Royal Commission’s interim report.

Speaking on the ABC, Ryvchin described the report as an important step, but warned it does not yet address the core concerns of victims’ families and the broader Jewish community.

“We need to get back to a point where Jewish Australians feel safe displaying their identities, congregating in public and celebrating being Jewish and being an Australian,” he said.

He said the report should lead to stronger coordination and preparedness between agencies, but stressed the process is far from over.

“But again, having spoken to families of the dead, to some of the survivors, the burning questions which they had about how these individuals were able to acquire firearms, how they were able to travel to terror hot spots, despite being known to authorities since at least 2019 … why wasn’t the event better resourced by police? These are still burning questions which really haven’t been resolved.”

Ryvchin said while there is “faith” in the Royal Commission process, the reality of the tragedy underscores the scale of the failure.

“Ultimately, the proof in the failure is in the fact that we buried 15 of our dead at Bondi. That’s the critical thing.”

He said the Jewish community continues to grapple with trauma, and rebuilding a sense of safety will take time.

“We need to get to a point where Jewish Australians at Hanukkah this year … feel safe, that we can gather again that we won’t be targeted.”

“There’s a deep sense of trauma in the community, and … a lot of unanswered questions, but this is an important step in the process.”

The Opposition Leader has expressed “deep concern” about elements of the Bondi royal commission’s interim report, saying the government may have used the wrong process to handle key issues.

“The governmet used the wrong committee to deal with these issues, they didn’t use the national coordination mechanaism and they should have done so,” Mr Taylor said.

“I’m going to look more closely at the report over the next little while. I am deeply concerned about initial parts of it that I’ve seen.”

The Prime Minister is pressed on the rise of anti-Semitism and whether the recommendation that NSW Police should provide more protection for Jewish festivals and events is an admission that not enough has been done.

He repeats what he has been saying since January, that governments could always do better.

“Social cohesion is important. Governments don’t control, by themselves, social cohesion – that’s something that everyone in the community has a role in,” he said.

He points to his appointments of Jillian Segal as the special envoy on anti-Semitism, and a new national student ombudsman, an increase in security funding, and setting up the royal commission.

“We will continue to work each and every day to promote social cohesion and to stamp out anti-Semitism,” he said.