EDITORIAL: Anthony Albanese’s opposition to a royal commission on Bondi leaves him increasingly isolated

As the country struggles to come to grips with the reality of the worst ever terror attack on Australian soil, Anthony Albanese has called repeatedly for national unity.

And yet it is the Prime Minister who appears increasingly isolated due to his obstinate refusal to allow a Commonwealth royal commission into the alleged murders of 15 people at Bondi Beach.

The push for a royal commission is backed by prominent Jewish leaders including NSW Board of Jewish Deputies president David Ossip and Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion, as well as former High Court chief justice Robert French and ex-ASIS boss Nick Warner.

Despite Mr Albanese’s attempt to frame the push for a Federal royal commission as being driven by partisan interests, calls are also coming from his own side of politics.

Former Queensland Labor Premier Peter Beattie and Gillard-Rudd era minister Mike Kelly have both voiced their support for a Commonwealth probe, as have current MPs Ed Husic and Mike Freelander, the latter two breaking ranks in a caucus in which anything other than complete, blind loyalty is seen as an all-out assault on the Prime Minister’s authority.

Mr Albanese says a Federal royal commission is not warranted because he has already ordered an inquiry into the actions of Australia’s federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies, to be headed by ex-ASIO boss Dennis Richardson.

The Commonwealth will also “co-operate” with a NSW-led royal commission, he says.

But the growing chorus of Federal royal commission backers say neither Mr Richardson’s spy probe or the NSW inquiry will be sufficiently empowered to delve into the complex political and societal factors which allowed violent, hateful anti-Semitism to fester in this nation.

And it is that question, more than any other, that the Jewish community wants answered in the wake of this horror. It can only be answered by our country’s highest form of inquiry.

The existence of the Richardson inquiry in no way negates the need for a broad-ranging royal commission. And it should not be left to NSW to carry the burden alone. The scourge of anti-Semitism is not a NSW issue, it is a national one. This heinous attack took place at Bondi Beach, but we have watched on as neo-nazis gathered on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament, as Jewish businesses and places of worship across the country were vandalised and as Jews the nation over suffered intimidation and harassment.

Mr Albanese has sought to frame the debate as a choice between “unity and urgency” of the Richardson review and “division and delay” which would arise from a royal commission.

That is a furphy. There’s no reason the Richardson inquiry can’t report to its April deadline, with the royal commission running however long is necessary to properly investigate its more complex brief. Anything less is another betrayal of Australia’s Jewish community.

Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by editor-in-chief Christopher Dore