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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a judge-led inquiry into the Bondi Beach massacre, yielding to growing pressure in recent weeks to hold a review of events leading up to the attack.
Albanese on Thursday appointed former judge Virginia Bell to lead an inquiry into the killing of 15 people on Bondi Beach last month, when two gunmen targeted Australia’s Jewish community at a Hanukkah celebration.
Bell has been asked to report back by December 14, the anniversary of the attack.
The prime minister had resisted pressure to establish the independent inquiry — known as a Royal Commission — in the aftermath of the country’s worst terrorist attack. He instead set up reviews of the intelligence and security services and moved to tighten gun laws and hate speech legislation, arguing among other points that a Royal Commission would be too slow.
But calls for a full judge-led inquiry from Jewish community groups, politicians and business and cultural leaders have grown stronger in recent weeks.
Albanese said at a press conference on Thursday that the full independent inquiry was needed to promote unity and social cohesion.
“Australia needs to heal, to learn, to come together in a spirit of national unity and to go forward knowing that, just like people who gathered that night on Bondi Beach were committing to, that light will prevail over darkness. It’s clear to me that a Royal Commission is essential to achieving this,” he said.
The inquiry will have the power to compel ministers including Albanese, police and security agencies to appear to answer questions.
Albanese said it would be structured so it would not prejudice criminal proceedings. Naveed Akram, one of the alleged shooters in the massacre that was said to have been inspired by Isis, has been charged with 15 counts of murder.
The inquiry will investigate the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in Australian institutions and society, including ideologically and religiously motivated extremism and radicalisation. It will examine the circumstances surrounding the Bondi attack and will also have a remit to make other recommendations to strengthen social cohesion.
It will also absorb the review of security and intelligence services that was established in the wake of the attack.
Past Royal Commissions have been called to determine accountability or action on issues ranging from deaths of Indigenous Australians in custody to misconduct in the banking sector.
David Slucki, director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University in Melbourne, welcomed the move. “Any effort to combat antisemitism requires a deeper understanding of its nature and causes,” he said.
