Anthony Albanese continues to refuse Bondi terror attack royal commission calls

Frustrations are growing in Labor ranks over the Prime Minister’s handling of the Bondi massacre as he resists calls to launch a Federal royal commission and his personal approval ratings plummet.

New South Wales backbenchers Mike Freelander and Ed Husic are the first Federal government MPs to break ranks and demand the Commonwealth follow their home State’s lead by launching the highest form of independent inquiry.

Speaking eight days after the shootings, and following another meeting of Cabinet’s National Security Committee, Mr Albanese on Monday said he understood the anger directed his way at a Sunday night vigil held for the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack.

“Emotions were raw, and a lot of people in the community are hurting and angry, and some of that anger was directed towards me, and I understand that,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

“As Prime Minister, I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I’m prime minister, and I’m sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced.”

Mr Albanese however, refused to directly apologise for his government’s failure to protect Jewish Australians while insisting he took responsibility for “everything that occurs” on the government’s watch.

“Well, we take responsibility for everything that occurs on our watch. We have taken a range of actions. We are taking further action, some of which we’ve announced today,” he said.

On Monday the opposition released its own draft royal Commission terms, while leader Sussan Ley directed an extraordinary spray against Foreign Minister Penny Wong, noting she had not gone to Bondi or shed “a single tear” for the 15 victims.

“I haven’t seen Penny Wong in the streets of Bondi. I haven’t seen Penny Wong at the vigil for 15 innocent murdered Australians. I didn’t see Penny Wong at Bondi last night, at the eighth night of Hanukkah. I didn’t see Penny Wong attend a single funeral. I haven’t seen Penny Wong shed a single tear,” Ms Ley said.

“So maybe if more government members . . . actually came to the streets of Bondi and listened, and not just listened, but heard, heard the pain, heard the anguish, heard the call to action, we wouldn’t have the ridiculous remarks that she has made recently.”

Responding to the opposition’s royal commission proposal, the Prime Minister insisted his government wanted “urgency and unity, not division and delay”, and pointed to a new review of Australia’s national security agencies now being led by former bureaucrat Dennis Richardson.

“What we need to do is to work immediately. That is what the Richardson review will do. And in addition to that, it will feed into the inquiry, which hasn’t been announced in NSW,” Mr Albanese said.

“The idea that we would have multiple royal commissions, as well as a review, running at the same time is going to simply delay action.”

Standing alongside Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Attorney General Michelle Rowland, the Prime Minister announced a legislative package targeting hate speech which would be taken to Parliament in the new year.

Those changes would be accompanied by laws criminalising joining, recruiting or supporting organisations found within a proscribed list of “hate organisations”, alongside allowances for visa cancellations for persons with a history of hate speech.

The Attorney General said of the 33 people currently before court in Australia on terrorism offences, 17 were minors and declared “this unprecedented radicalisation of our youth must stop”.

“We will introduce a new aggravated offence targeting adults who seek to influence and radicalise children. Anyone advocating to children violence against protected groups or their property will face tougher penalties,” Ms Rowland said.

The Home Affairs Minister has also put radical groups on notice, while singling out Hizb-ut Tahrir and the National Socialist Network, saying a new listing would be created for those deemed below the threshold of a terror organisation.

“These organisations, for a long time, have been able to take hate right to the threshold without using the words violence, and escape any further terrorist listing,” Mr Burke said.

It comes as the latest Resolve Political Monitor which surveyed 1010 Australians, revealed Mr Albanese’s support fell 15 points from +6 to -9 between November and last week, representing his lowest approval rating since the May election.

The same poll published by Nine newspapers Monday also showed Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s approval rating dropping seven points from +3 to -4, with the preferred Prime Minister narrowing slightly to 38 per cent for Mr Albanese and 30 per cent for Ms Ley.