JENI O’DOWD: 10 days after Bondi terror attack, everyday life is resuming, but Sydney won’t ever be the same

The shock may have passed, but 10 days after the attack at Bondi Beach, the unease hasn’t.

It’s Christmas Eve, and NSW appears to be back on its feet. Shops are full. Cafés are loud. Beach towels are back on the sand. My local Santa is complaining about the heat and his costume, like he does every year.

Everyday life has resumed, but not cleanly. Something is off. I find myself randomly hugging my kids throughout the day and scanning crowds when I leave the house.

This is Australia now.

When the Bondi Beach memorial was held a few days ago, the security presence was unmistakable with snipers on rooftops, police boats in the water and officers carrying long rifles.

Across Sydney’s CBD, anti-terrorism measures have already been boosted ahead of holiday events, particularly New Year’s Eve.

Concrete bollards and other protective measures will be deployed, says the City of Sydney, as the city prepares to usher in the new year while honouring the 15 lives lost at Bondi.

At 9 pm, the Harbour Bridge will shine white, with a dove and the word “peace” projected onto it, with a moment of silence to remember the victims and condemn anti-Semitism.

I’ve never been a devoted Clover Moore supporter, but her response certainly captured the national mood.

“I invite everyone to pause and shine a torch light to show the Jewish community that we stand with them and that we reject violence, fear and anti-Semitism,” Moore said.

“These moments will provide an opportunity for people to show respect, to reflect on the atrocity and to say we will not let this hateful act of terror divide us.”

How leaders respond in moments like this exposes instinct, judgment and restraint.

NSW Premier Chris Minns understood that immediately. He showed up at funerals, Jewish community events and with affected families, focusing on presence before policy.

Yesterday, he joined both Jewish and Muslim community leaders in public displays of unity, visiting the Masjid Al-Hidayah mosque in Rockdale.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Minns has also increased security, ordered reviews into possible intelligence failures and radicalisation, and backed a State-based royal commission into the attack. He didn’t rush the moment. He met it.

The contrast with the Prime Minister was stark.

Albanese moved quickly to policy, announcing gun law changes before the country had even caught its breath.

While he condemned anti-Semitism, his response left more profound questions untouched: radicalisation, online extremism and why young men are being drawn to violent ideology.

He has resisted calls for a royal commission, arguing it would take too long and the focus should be on fixing critical security gaps now. Instead, he announced a review of Federal security and intelligence agencies.

Why can’t we have both? This was Australia’s worst terror attack and it’s naive to just blame our security agencies.

Blaming process after the fact avoids the harder question of leadership before it; why anti-Semitism was allowed to escalate so visibly, so publicly, and for so long without a coherent national response.

It’s no wonder Albanese was booed at the Bondi memorial.

And then there is Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Her early media appearances were awkward and unanchored. She looked like a politician out of her depth at a moment when steadiness was needed.

Ley’s personal attack on Foreign Minister Penny Wong, when she accused her of “not shedding a single tear”, was hysterical.

By comparison, Minns has looked prime ministerial. The contrast to both Albanese and Ley has been brutal.

Tragedy strips away polish. It reveals who understands the difference between presence and performance, empathy and optics. It shows who can sit in discomfort, and who panics when they cannot control the narrative.

Bondi Beach will never feel the same again. And neither will the way Australians see their leaders at times when it really matters.

Tomorrow, families across the country will gather for Christmas lunch. Many of us will eat and drink too much, argue and laugh.

But we will also remember those 15 lost souls, and what has been lost with them.