Royal commission off table as PM says sorry for Bondi

Anthony Albanese continues to rebuff calls for a national royal commission into the Bondi massacre while apologising to the Jewish community.

The prime minister has apologised to the Jewish community for the Bondi massacre happening on his watch, but is still staring down calls for a national royal commission into the Hanukkah attack.

Flanked by Attorney-General Michelle Rowland and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Mr Albanese outlined a package of legislation to be introduced to parliament early in 2026 to tackle hate speech and beef up laws to cancel visas of non-citizens who preach hate.

The laws were flagged last week, but the federal government will also introduce a new aggravated offence targeting adults who seek to influence and radicalise children.

The announcement is unlikely to mollify members of the Jewish community who have been calling for the prime minister to announce a national royal commission into the Islamic State-inspired mass shooting, which claimed 15 innocent lives.

Mr Albanese’s approval rating has plunged since the Bondi massacre on December 14, although Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s standing has also fallen after her pointed criticism of the government, according to a Resolve survey published on Monday.

The prime minister apologised to the Jewish community after he was booed multiple times while attending a Bondi Beach vigil for the victims of the attack on Sunday evening.

“Emotions were raw and a lot of people in the community are hurting and angry and some of that anger was directed towards me,” he said on Monday.

“I understand that as prime minister, I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I’m prime minister and I’m sorry for what the Jewish community, and our nation as a whole, has experienced.”

The same crowd applauded David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, when he called for a royal commission.

The government had previously backed a NSW-led royal commission and launched a more limited review of its own, led by former intelligence chief Dennis Richardson, into federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong earlier on Monday said the government’s focus was on keeping Australians safe and the intelligence review would provide assurance faster than a broader royal commission.

Labor backbenchers Mike Freelander and Ed Husic have reportedly broken ranks to call for a federal royal commission.

In a move to ramp up pressure on the government, the coalition released its own terms of reference for a royal commission.

The opposition’s proposed inquiry would deliver an interim report by June and look at how actions and inactions of commonwealth and state governments, as well as the media, education and cultural sectors, contributed to anti-Semitic violence including the terrorist attack.

The opposition’s most senior Jewish MP, coalition education spokesman Julian Leeser, delivered a scathing condemnation of Mr Albanese for not calling a royal commission into the terrorist attack

“The Jewish community of this country cannot survive on the crumbs of this government and this appalling prime minister who is always late to the party and who wants the Jewish community of this country to live in his half measures,” he said.

Mr Albanese rubbished the coalition’s claim that a royal commission could report back within the space of six months, when they typically take a number of years.

“The idea that we would have multiple royal commissions, as well as a review, running at the same time is going to simply delay action,” he said.

Ms Ley labelled that argument a “cop out” and said Labor could not credibly claim to be acting in the name of unity while refusing to heed the community’s “clear call”.

“Urgency would mean recalling the parliament this week to act now,” she said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns on Monday said the NSW royal commission would be able to inquire into the roles of federal law enforcement agencies ASIO and the AFP.

By: Jacob Shteyman/AAP