Ash Ambihaipahar (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General. How is the government addressing antisemitism and social cohesion after the Bondi terror attack? What role will the royal commission play?

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. There is no place for hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. In the wake of the abhorrent events on 14 December, our response as a nation needs to be above politics. It is about the right outcome for our national unity and our national security. Australia needs to heal, to learn, to come together in a spirit of collective strength and to go forward knowing that light will always prevail over darkness. As the Prime Minister said, the government has engaged with members of the community, particularly Jewish Australians, and we have listened.

In addition to the legislation outlined in my previous response, the government has established the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, led by the honourable Virginia Bell AC. Ms Bell is an eminent and highly capable former justice of the High Court of Australia. She also served with distinction on the Supreme Court and the New South Wales Court of Appeal. Ms Bell has the deep experience to conduct her inquiry in a way that meaningfully examines the impact of antisemitism on the daily life of Jewish Australians and works to promote social cohesion. She was an exceptional judge, and I have complete confidence that she will discharge her role as commissioner with the same fairness and impartiality that she brought to the bench.

Her appointment has received wide support, including from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. Its president, Daniel Aghion, said, 'Commissioner Bell is a retired high court judge with excellent credentials,' and, 'we endorse her appointment.' I am pleased to inform the House that the commissioner has now formally commenced her role and is wasting no time in operationalising the royal commission.

The royal commission will be an important opportunity for Australians, particularly Jewish Australians, to have their voices heard and to speak to their experiences. It is also important to note that the royal commission must be conducted in such a way that it does not prejudice any future criminal proceedings. The letters patent were very clear on this, and Ms Bell, as commissioner, is well placed to navigate this task due to her extensive experience in criminal law. The government has asked Commissioner Bell to deliver an interim report to government by 30 April and a final report by 14 December. We all want a safer, more unified Australia, and this royal commission will be one part of that process.

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, if a Commonwealth royal commission is such a good idea, why did you spend 25 days arguing against it?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Berowra for his question. We spent the immediate aftermath, as I have said, of the attack on 14 December making assessments based upon: how do we ensure that this isn't part of a cell, given ISIS's recognition that was identified very early on by these perpetrators? We wanted to make sure we put in place the measures that kept people safe. That was the first priority, as you would expect. We worked on the Sunday night. The national security committee met very early on the Monday morning. We met, as well, with New South Wales police in Sydney, and we continue to meet on a daily basis.

We established that we needed to have the Richardson review, which would look into the operations of the AFP, ASIO and ASIS as security agencies but also the way that they interacted with state agencies. We chose Mr Richardson as he's probably Australia's pre-eminent expert on foreign, international, and defence and security issues. At the same time, we were convening a process, and we announced what the principles would be in the legislation that we would bring before this parliament that was—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Fisher, no-one else is interjecting like this. You're going to cease interjecting for the remainder of question time, or you won't be here. It's not appropriate. No-one else is behaving like this. I'm asking you to show restraint. The member for Berowra on a point of order.

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance: my question was not about the other things the Prime Minister was doing but about why he argued against a royal commission.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Resume your seat. You specifically mentioned the timeline, and you gave a number of days. From what I can hear, the Prime Minister is going through, day by day, the reasons you asked him about. I'll make sure he's being directly relevant, but he is answering the question and giving reasons and arguments.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member would also be aware that the New South Wales government announced that they would have a royal commission, and we responded at about the same time as we announced the Richardson review and said there would be full Commonwealth cooperation, including access to all personnel, all records and everything, which would have effectively made it a Commonwealth royal commission as well. We announced that and said that very publicly. We then, of course, worked with the community on what a royal commission might look like, because we wanted to make sure that we got it right.

There are risks with a royal commission, given that a criminal case will be taking place at the same time, and we needed to make sure they were covered. We needed to make sure, as well, that we got the royal commissioner right, and, in choosing Virginia Bell, I believe we did get it right. We also needed to consult with the Jewish community. We sat down and went through it line by line, days before the royal commission was announced, to make sure that that occurred. The character assassination of Virginia Bell that took place in some sections of the media, and was briefed out by some people associated with that side of politics, shows the problem that would have occurred had we not announced not just a royal commission but who the commissioner was and what the terms of reference were and had the support of the community for those terms of reference. I thank ECAJ for making sure that that occurred. They engaged respectfully. There was one meeting that went for over four hours.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Name names.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Wannon, I'm asking you to show similar restraint and to not interject for the remainder of question time.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We engaged respectfully. The people who were critical of Virginia Bell did it publicly, and very openly, on social media. You know who they were.