In a poignant letter, 11 out of the 15 families affected by the Bondi Beach tragedy have urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to address the concerning surge of antisemitism in Australia. They are calling for a thorough examination of the apparent shortcomings in law enforcement, intelligence, and policy that they believe contributed to the massacre.

Prime Minister Albanese has, however, dismissed the idea of a commonwealth royal commission, arguing that such an inquiry would be time-consuming and could hinder prompt action.

In response to the tragedy, a state-level investigation and the Richardson review of government agencies are on the agenda.

Despite these plans, some victims’ families feel these measures fall short of what is necessary.

“The federal government’s current actions regarding the Bondi massacre are insufficient,” the families expressed in a letter that was published in Nine newspapers.

Albanese said this afternoon his “heart breaks for the families of the victims of the Bondi terrorist atrocity, and my heart goes out to them at what is an incredibly traumatic time”.

“My job as the Australian Prime Minister is to act in the national interest,” he added.

“It is in the national interest for us to do the Richardson review on national security, on any gaps which are there in the conduct of our agencies, including the AFP, ASIO, ASIS, the interaction between the Commonwealth and state jurisdictions, any gaps which are there.”

A royal commission is an independent public inquiry.

In Australia, royal commissions are the highest form of inquiry on matters of public importance.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke also said it would not be in the interest of national security to have a commonwealth royal commission.

“No one can tell me that that is in the interest of unity to re-platform some of the worst voices, but a royal commission, by definition, does that and does that publicly,” he said.

“Now, I understand why families and different people would call for it. But when you then look at, is it the right way to deal with national security? The answer is no. Is it the right way to deliver unity? The answer again is no.”

Also examined will be other preventative measures agencies could have taken, any restrictions of the current legal framework, measures to prevent similar attacks, the effectiveness of warrants and data access and any legal changes.

The review will finalise a report by April.

Albanese promised the government would act on recommendations.

“The government is committed to making sure that we can’t wait years for answers we need to get on with any changes that are required,” he said. 

The Prime Minister is set to recall parliament early in January to introduce a series of reforms in the wake of the Bondi attack.

They will include hate speech laws, a landmark gun buyback scheme, a new offence targeting the radicalisation of children, and more powers for the home affairs minister to cancel or refuse visas if a person is suspected of promoting violence or hate or is associated with a terrorist organisation.