Albanese ignores grieving families’ plea for a royal commission, pushes on with intelligence inquiry

The family of a 78-year-old grandfather killed at Bondi has slammed the Albanese government’s claims that a royal commission would give a platform to the worst voices of anti-Semitism.

Mendy Amzalak, the grandson of Tibor Weitzen, accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke of “hiding behind reviews”, telling The Australian “heads need to roll”.

“The Jewish community has put up with the worst voices for the best part of two and a half years and if we have to hear them one more time to get to the bottom of this — the truth — then we will do it, heads need to roll,” Mr Amzalak said.

“If they truly believe they’ve done nothing wrong, then they should welcome a royal commission instead of hiding behind reviews they control.”

The niece of Boris Tetleroyd also took aim at Mr Albanese, branding him a “coward”.

“He’s a coward with his own ideological viewpoints that he has carried through his whole time in parliament, and this is just proving it,” Jenny Roytur told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Weitzens and Tetleroyds were two of the 17 families of victims killed or injured in the attack to sign a joint statement demanding the Albanese government hold a royal commission.

But the pleas appeared to have fallen on deaf ears as Mr Burke claimed a royal commission would give a public platform for “the worst voices” and airing hateful views, and Mr Albanese pushed ahead with a review into the attack.

The Prime Minister said the review led by Dennis Richardson, running in parallel with a NSW royal commission and justice system, was the best way for the Commonwealth to get answers quickly and take action to deal with any gaps in Australia’s national security.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the review was insufficient and inadequate, repeating her calls for a royal commission to examine every aspect of anti-Semitism across Australian society.

Cabinet’s national security committee on Monday agreed to terms of reference for Mr Richardson’s review and has asked him to report back by the end of April.

The former head of ASIO, Defence and DFAT will look at what Commonwealth agencies knew about the two alleged gunmen, information sharing with States, and whether further preventative measures should have been taken including if such measures were prohibited by existing laws.

He’ll give the Government an assessment of whether current laws are adequate to prevent similar attacks in the future and what needs to change.

“This ISIS-inspired atrocity in Bondi is a stark reminder of the rapidly changing security environment that we face, and the need to make sure our agencies have what they need and we’re determined to make sure they get exactly that,” Mr Albanese said.

Calls for a Federal royal commission mounted on Monday with the statement signed by the families of 17 victims killed or injured in the December 14 attack, saying they were owed answers, accountability and truth.

“You cannot bring back our loved ones. But with a well-led Commonwealth royal commission and strong action, you may be able to save many more,” they wrote.

Mr Albanese said his heart broke for the families, but that his job as Prime Minister was to act in the national interest, and the Richardson review did that.

“I have nothing except sympathy for those families. Nothing but sympathy. They are going through a traumatic period of losing a loved one at such an unexpected time,” he said.

“My job as Prime Minister is to look at how we build unity, how we build social cohesion, how we do what the nation needs at what is a very difficult time.

“Just over two weeks ago, anti-Semitic terrorists tried to tear our country apart, but our country is stronger than these cowards … We need to respond with unity and urgency rather than division and delay.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry chief executive Alex Ryvchin accused the Government of continuing to drag its feet and proposing “an ineffective half-measure”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns is working on terms of reference for a State-based royal commission into the attack, which will include an examination of the rise of anti-Semitism, and wants to get it running as soon as possible.

“We need to know how this has escalated from comments or chants at a rally, escalating all the way to violent actions on the beach in Bondi,” he said.

He saw no difficulty with that examination proceeding at the same time as a trial for Naveed Akram, who faces 59 charges including terrorism, murder and attempted murder.

The Premier had been advised a NSW commissioner would be able to access information and agencies from other jurisdictions — including the Commonwealth — “and I would expect that to happen”.

Mr Burke said he was deeply concerned about the effect on social cohesion from a royal commission into anti-Semitism along the lines suggested by the Opposition, which he said would only serve to “provide a public platform for some of the worst statements and worst voices”.

“I understand why families and different people would call for it … You have the worst action, you think, ‘oh, this is the biggest response’, you understand why it’s a logical starting point,” he said.

“But when you then look at is it the right way to deal with national security? The answer is no. Is it the right way to deliver unity? The answer, again, is no.”

Senior Labor figures broadly agreed with this view, saying questions of social cohesion were better dealt with through parliamentary processes — like a Senate inquiry — than the legalistic, factual environment of a royal commission.

One assessed that while the Prime Minister was a stubborn character, this time he was rejecting a royal commission because it’s a bad idea.

Nor did those who spoke to The West see a broader political risk, saying while Australians were sad about the attack, most in the wider public didn’t personally blame the Prime Minister.

Ms Ley accused Mr Albanese of ignoring the voices of the Jewish community.

“Today, the Prime Minister thumbed his nose at these families and told them, in effect, that he knows better,” she said.

“It is not protective. It is patronising. It’s also an insult to the Australian people. Australians do not need to be shielded from the truth.”

She believed Mr Burke’s concerns could be dealt with by allowing a royal commission to hold private hearings.

Federal Parliament is set to be recalled in the new year to deal with legislation cracking down on hate speech and hate preachers, and giving the Home Affairs minister stronger powers to reject visas or expel people.

The states are also working on stronger gun laws.

Ms Ley refused to pre-empt the Richardson inquiry by saying whether the Coalition would back further laws that dealt with his recommendations.