Labor Minister insists royal commission into Bondi Beach terror attack would be ‘symbolic’, cause ‘division’

Labor minister Tim Ayres has insisted a royal commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack would be “symbolic” and cause “division and delay” despite the families of victims pleading for one.

The Albanese Government has instead commissioned former intelligence chief Dennis Richardson to undertake a snap review which would report back within months.

The Industry Minister argued the independent review would be “broad, wide ranging, practical and effective”.

Mr Ayres said he understood that people would see the probe as an option given the “magnitude” of the biggest terrorism attack on Australian soil in history, which claimed the lives of 15 people including a 10-year-old girl.

“To see this terrible violence in one of our iconic national places, people want to see the firmest possible response from The Australian Government and the royal commission sounds like an effective response,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.

“It sounds like a big response. The truth is, it would take many, many years to complete.

“It would be symbol. It would be a symbolic approach about division and delay, rather than an approach that is about getting practical responses right now.

“The Richardson report will report in a few months, not in a few years. We’re not dragging our heels. Quite the opposite.

“It will deliver a broad and effective and pragmatic assessment of what is required from Australia’s security agencies to strengthen our overall response and harden Australia’s capability to deal with these kinds of terrorist attacks.”

His comments come after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed at a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday that undisclosed “actual experts” had informed the government’s current approach.

“The actual experts, who are the current experts, have all recommended this course of action, and we are following the advice that we received from authorities who are in 2025 dealing with this atrocity,” the PM had said.

Shadow Attorney-General Andrew Wallace on Wednesday called on the PM to immediately disclose who provided advice against a Commonwealth royal commission and to “stop making excuses and show moral courage”.

“Prime Minister Albanese’s claim that he consulted ‘actual experts’ is deeply offensive and dismissive of Jewish community leaders and the Bondi victims’ families,” he said.

“No one is more expert than those directly impacted by anti-Semitism, many of whom have been warning this Government about its consequences for more than two years.”

Jewish peak bodies issued a fresh call for a royal commission on Wednesday, with 16 penning an open letter to insist the “highest form of public inquiry” was necessary after the bloody massacre.

“We strongly believe that this review will have no investigative remit to identify and expose the root causes of systemic anti-Semitism in Australia and is far from mutually exclusive with a needed Commonwealth royal commission,” their joint-statement said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns wouldn’t be drawn on the State’s opposition leader Kellie Sloane’s calls for him to lobby the PM to hold a Federal royal commission.

“She’s entitled to a view. I’m not going to criticise her for that. Look, they’ve made their decision. I’ve made our decision. We are going ahead with the royal commission in New South Wales,” Mr Minns said.

“I’m not going to get into a long public commentary or yell from the sidelines about this terrorism event.

“I’ve got massive responsibilities in New South Wales, and that’s going to be my focus.”

Former Nationals-turned-One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce told Sky that he too believed that Federal Government should hold a royal commission and accused the PM of trying to “duck and weave” through the snap review.