Law Council joins growing coalition calling for royal commission into Bondi attack

Australia’s peak legal body has backed calls for a federal royal commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack and the rise in antisemitism, adding fresh weight to mounting pressure on the Albanese government.

The Law Council of Australia said only a commonwealth royal commission had the independence and authority to properly examine the attack, its broader causes and the national response.

Law Council president Tania Wolff said the Prime Minister’s resistance to a public inquiry risked undermining confidence in Australia’s legal and institutional frameworks.

“The rise in antisemitism, and the violence it has fuelled, strike at the heart of the rule of law and confidence in Australia’s legal system,” Wolff said.
She said the Bondi attack could not be treated as a purely state-based issue.

“While it happened in one state, the forces that shape radicalisation, online incitement and prevention operate nationally and engage significant commonwealth responsibilities,” she said. “Only a commonwealth royal commission has the independence, scope and authority necessary to examine these issues fully and restore public confidence.”

Reports today suggest that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese may be softening his opposition to a federal royal commission.
“We are focused on strengthening our laws, supporting affected communities and ensuring agencies are doing everything possible to keep Australians safe,” he said, adding that the government was “not distracted from taking urgent action”.

Support for a royal commission within the legal profession has continued to grow. An open letter released by senior legal figures has now attracted 213 signatures, up from 130 at publication, including former judges, senior barristers and legal academics.

Among the signatories is former Federal Court Justice Ron Merkel, who told The Australian there had been “no respectable argument” presented against a royal commission.

“Our Prime Minister seems to be very, very far away from even getting near the problem,” Merkel said. “He seems to be offering different justifications every day, and they look increasingly unconvincing.”

Merkel said a royal commission, if given broad terms of reference, could examine organised racial and religious hatred, institutional failures and the role of unregulated social media. He dismissed the government’s proposed review as “entirely internal” and lacking the protections of the Royal Commissions Act.

He also rejected claims that a royal commission would delay reform.

“Having a royal commission doesn’t in any way impede taking interim steps to change the law,” he said.

As an example of institutional failure, Merkel pointed to a neo-Nazi rally outside the NSW parliament in November, where police failed to recognise calls for the abolition of the “Jewish lobby” as an antisemitic trope. “That lack of understanding is exactly what needs to be examined,” he said.