Families of the Bondi terror victims have issued a blistering open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for an immediate royal commission into “the deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil,” warning the threat of anti-Semitism is “real and escalating.”
The families of 11 of the 15 victims, including those of 10-year-old Matilda, Melbourne grandfather Reuven Morrison and Rabbi Eli Schlanger, accused the government of “policy failures” that allowed anti-Semitism and extremism to grow, saying, “You owe us answers. You owe us accountability. And you owe Australians the truth.”
They demanded a national inquiry examining intelligence and policy failures and the rise of anti-Semitism since the October 7 Hamas attacks, writing, “Our children feel unsafe at school and university… It is an intolerable situation that no Australian should have to endure.”
Albanese has resisted calls for a royal commission, noting, “There was no royal commission called by the Howard government after Port Arthur. There was no royal commission called by the Abbott government after the Lindt siege,” instead announcing a departmental review led by former spy chief Dennis Richardson.
His stance has drawn criticism from victims’ families, national security experts and politicians, including Wentworth MP Allegra Spender and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, while Labor MPs Ed Husic and Mike Freelander have also backed a federal inquiry.
In a separate open letter, 139 senior barristers and former judges, including former Federal Court chief justice James Allsop AC and former Commonwealth DPP Ian Temby AO KC, urged the government to act, saying anti-Semitism is “a national issue,” adding, “Anti-Semitism is promulgated openly… in a disturbing and increasingly normalised manner online, on social media, and in our institutions including universities.”
Among the signatories are Greek Australians, The Hon. Paul Anastassiou KC and Anthony Papamatheos SC.
They warned that radicalisation pathways, intelligence, border control and counter-terrorism laws fall largely under Commonwealth responsibility and said, “A departmental review does not offer the same degree of independence, transparency, or public authority as a royal commission.”
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the families’ intervention was “extremely significant,” declaring, “It’s now time for the Prime Minister to listen and act. The voices are too loud and too important to ignore.”
Source: The Advertiser.
