Families of those slain in the Bondi terrorist attack are relieved a commonwealth royal commission will take place, but say many questions have been left unanswered.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement has been welcomed by Jewish groups, legal bodies and business leaders who lobbied for the national inquiry.
The four key areas former High Court judge Virginia Bell will examine are the nature and prevalence of anti-Semitism, recommendations to law enforcement, examining the circumstances surrounding the December 14 attack, and strengthening social cohesion.
Jenny Rotyur, the niece of Boris Tetleroyd who was fatally shot at the Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach, cannot understand what took Mr Albanese so long to call the inquiry after 25 days of lobbying.
“Why was he sitting on his hands for this long?” she told AAP.
Asked whether he was sorry the Jewish community was forced to campaign for a royal commission while grieving the tragedy, Mr Albanese said he had been listening to their concerns.
“I understand, because I’ve listened, that grieving families and others in the Jewish community wanted a broader consideration of the issue of anti-Semitism,” he told Seven’s Sunrise on Friday.
“I, of course, am sorry for the grief and for what they are going through. My heart breaks for them.”
Sheina Gutnick, the daughter of Bondi victim Reuven Morrison, echoed Ms Rotyur in calling for definitions of the key areas that will be explored in the inquiry.
“The fact that he did take that step in announcing a royal commission was a big relief,” Ms Gutnick said.
“But we are waiting for a working definition of social cohesion and exactly what that’s going to include so we can understand what will be covered in it.”
Both said Mr Albanese had not met them.
“Personally, my family has not heard from Albanese or anyone from his office,” Ms Gutnick said.
“It’s quite disappointing and disheartening, especially seeing as he’s stated he has been in consultation with families and has shared their grief with him.”
Mr Albanese on Friday defended himself against criticism from the opposition, saying the royal commission had been called in “record time”.
Monash University public policy expert Deirdre O’Neill pointed to a royal commission being set up in Victoria just days after the catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a royal commission the day after disturbing footage was aired by the ABC’s Four Corners in 2016 showing the mistreatment of children at the Don Dale detention facility in the Northern Territory.
“I wouldn’t say that we’re necessarily comparing comparable situations,” Associate Professor O’Neill said, noting the groundswell of support in favour of a Bondi inquiry had become “impossible to ignore”.
The public should not prejudge the inquiry or the royal commissioner, Assoc Prof O’Neill said.
“I think and hope that this royal commission will make a really positive contribution to the important matters that it’s addressing,” she said.
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