Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of allowing antisemitism to fester and failing to keep Jewish Australians safe, following a deadly terror attack at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people. The attack, which occurred during the first day of Hanukkah, targeted Australia's Jewish community. One of the two gunmen was also killed, while the other remains in critical but stable condition in hospital.
The Coalition has demanded the federal government act immediately on an antisemitism plan handed to it in July by its hand-picked antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal. Ms Segal said Australia had not been strong enough against antisemitism and government messaging had not been sufficient. She noted that she had been holding her breath, fearing something like the Bondi attack would happen, as it had come with warnings.
Ms Segal's plan proposes stripping funding from institutions that fail to fight Jewish hate, monitoring media organisations, and reviewing Australia's hate speech laws. While Prime Minister Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke stood alongside Ms Segal when she handed down the report, the government has not formally responded to its recommendations. Ms Segal urged the government to give the plan its full endorsement and accelerate its implementation.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-president Alex Ryvchin, who was meant to speak at the Bondi event, said there would be a reckoning in the coming days to examine how the attack was allowed to happen. Prime Minister Albanese stated he had spoken with Ms Segal and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, and his government would act based on the investigation's findings. A meeting of National Cabinet has been convened for this afternoon.
The Coalition has offered to support parliament being recalled over the summer if laws need to be passed in response to the Bondi attack. Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam said the government had been warned and the massacre could have been avoided. Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, emphasized that the dehumanisation of Jewish people must be tackled, noting that it has real-world consequences.
