Albanese orders review into AFP and Asio after Bondi attack
Tom McIlroy
Anthony Albanese says he has asked former Asio boss Dennis Richardson and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to lead a review into Australia’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
He announced the move amid growing calls for a royal commission into last week’s Bondi shootings.
In a statement, Albanese said:
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will examine whether federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe in the wake of the horrific antisemitic Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation. Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond.
The review will be led by Dennis Richardson – a former Secretary of the Department of Defence, former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and former Intelligence Chief.
The review will build on the work of the Independent Intelligence Review, conducted by Richard Maude and Heather Smith.
The review will be provided to the government by the end of April 2026 and will be made publicly available.
Key events
Caitlin Cassidy
As organisers continue to set up for a memorial at Bondi’s promenade later today, a seaplane is circling over the beach.
It is carrying a banner, displayed to the hundreds of people packed on the sand, which reads:
Love from Aus[tralia] to our Jewish community.
Anti-immigration rallies have ‘no place in Australia’, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese has called on demonstrators planning to rally in Sydney and Melbourne today to cancel their activities.
Anti-immigration rallies have been planned for the country’s two largest cities, in defiance of the NSW government’s warnings that gatherings on Sunday would be unhelpful so soon after the Bondi terror attacks.
Nationals defector and One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce is headlined to speak at an anti-immigration event in Sydney.
The prime minister said Sunday should be about remembering the victims of the Bondi shooting.
Terrorists have sought to divide this country but this is a time to stand united – particularly on this national day of reflection.
There are organised rallies seeking to sow division in the aftermath of last Sunday’s antisemitic terrorist attack, and they have no place in Australia.
They should not go ahead and people should not attend them.
Littleproud says PM avoiding royal commission into Bondi attack
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says Anthony Albanese hasn’t yet called a royal commission into the Bondi attacks because he’s afraid of political embarrassment.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday morning, Littleproud said an independent inquiry should be held.
And there has been a litany of failures here for two and a half years.
The warning signs were there … but we should look ourselves in the eye.
We should look at the failings of decisions made at a political level, at intelligence levels. And many of these agencies are at a federal level.
The Nationals leader acknowledged that any inquiry may identify failures made by former Coalition governments, saying he would welcome the scrutiny.
– with AAP
The number of flowers left at a memorial to those killed and injured during the Bondi attack have grown in an outpouring of grief and support on Sunday.
Here are some images of the scene:
Caitlin Cassidy
Bondi reopens but remains a site of mourning
There is a strange duality at Bondi a week after the terror event. The life-savers have returned to the beach and the police scene has been lifted, but Bondi’s promenade is still filled with bouquets and tributes to the 15 victims.
Signs with QR codes to donation links hang from telephone poles and fencing. At the footbridge where one of the alleged shooters stood, firing on the Hanukah event, crowds of people continue to stand and mourn.
A sign has been hung there by Waverley council which reads:
This is the site of a terrible tragedy for the local community. Please be respectful and consider others when moving through.
Chalk has been provided at the bottom of the footbridge and people have written tributes and drawn pictures on the cement. “To Matilda bee,” one reads. “Love peace,” says another.
Police warn of ‘significant’ response to unauthorised Sydney anti-immigration rally
New South Wales police are urging members of the public not to attend an unauthorised anti-immigration rally planned for Sunday afternoon.
In a statement, police said a Form 1 was submitted by the protest organiser on Wednesday but it was not supported by police and “subsequent negotiations were unsuccessful”.
As a result, the organiser has not obtained authorisation for the assembly under Part 4 of the Summary Offences Act 1988.
Without this authorisation, the event is not legally protected as an authorised assembly and individuals who choose to attend may be liable for obstruction and unlawful assembly offences.
The statement added that “this is not a time for public gatherings that may heighten tension or create additional risks to community safety” and that participants in Sunday’s protests can expect “significant policing response to any large-scale public gatherings at time this”.
Former Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, who quit to join One Nation, has been advertised as a speaker at the gathering.
Albanese orders review into AFP and Asio after Bondi attack
Tom McIlroy
Anthony Albanese says he has asked former Asio boss Dennis Richardson and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to lead a review into Australia’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
He announced the move amid growing calls for a royal commission into last week’s Bondi shootings.
In a statement, Albanese said:
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will examine whether federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe in the wake of the horrific antisemitic Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation. Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond.
The review will be led by Dennis Richardson – a former Secretary of the Department of Defence, former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and former Intelligence Chief.
The review will build on the work of the Independent Intelligence Review, conducted by Richard Maude and Heather Smith.
The review will be provided to the government by the end of April 2026 and will be made publicly available.
Caitlin Cassidy
The National Council for Jewish Women Australia vigil at Bondi Pavilion has concluded with a rendition of the national anthem.
As music played, attenders with flowers were asked to add them to an ever-growing pile of bouquets at the foot of the pavilion, which have started to yellow and wilt with age. Many laid them down with tears, hugging their friends and family members.
The crowd have started to disperse, but some mourners continue to stand in reflection. Balloons in the shape of a bee, hung up to pay tribute to 10-year-old Matilda, whose middle name was Bee, are flying at the memorial’s gates.
Caitlin Cassidy
Mostyn said she attended the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park on Saturday to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the withdrawal of soldiers from Anzac Cove.
They had done their work in Gallipoli in order to provide peace for the world. They were led by a masterful general, John Monash, another Jewish man who led our country with military distinction.
When we think about the unspeakable, ghastly acts of terror perpetrated here, I think what it was like to stand in the shores on Anzac Day, and how unspeakable it would’ve been to consider at the shores of Bondi Beach, we would have 1000 surf Life Savers [on Saturday] in an act of commemoration.”
Mostyn said Australia had powerfully remembered the Anzac story but “we have to learn other history”, including those of Australia’s Holocaust survivors.
Yesterday I was shocked to learn a 94-year-old Jewish woman who’s been coming to the Anzac commemoration every year rang the organisers to know whether she would still be welcome as a Jewish woman … Of course she was welcome, every Jew in this country … you are part of the belonging story and the success of this country … This is now a national project. Mitzvahs, good deeds, care, kindness to each other.
Governor general addresses Bondi vigil, calls for ‘care, kindness and respect’
Caitlin Cassidy
The governor general, Sam Mostyn, says she will make it her “national project” to promote care, kindness and respect for the Jewish community and all Australians following the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
Addressing the National Council for Jewish Women Australia vigil in front of the Bondi Pavilion, Mostyn said she heard about the event on the radio and felt compelled to attend. She was wearing white, as is most of the crowd, as requested by the organisers to spread light.
We must take that forward … When I took on this role 16 months ago, I said what should be at the heart of my office – which is beyond politics, beyond policy – would be care, kindness and respect … I was calling on the words of a former governor general, a Jewish governor general, Sir Zelman Cowen, who was needed at a different time for Australia and needed to be a peacemaker.
Mostyn said the office she represented “must be the one that reflects the light and shade of the country back to the country”.
To interpret the mood of the nation in these moments, and then to act with all of you in those moments of healing and unity, for us not to be divided, but to come together … to show that we understand what that means for us as a nation. Care, kindness, respect, compassion, everyone belonging in this nation.
Tom McIlroy
Charities and non-profits sign letter of support for Jewish community and rejecting ‘fear, polarisation, and disinformation’
Dozens of civil society groups around the country have signed an open letter of support to Australia’s Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi attacks, offering sympathy and love to bereaved families and victims, as well as Jews around the country.
The full letter is below. It is signed by groups including the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, Amnesty, Oxfam, Climate 200, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties and many others.
It reads:
Antisemitism (anti-Jewish racism) should have no place in Australia. We should all feel and be safe in our identities – free to practice our faiths, live our cultures, celebrate with family, and be in community with one another. Everyone has a right to live in peace and safety, no matter their belief or background.
In the aftermath of this shocking violence, we remember our shared humanity. We honour the memories of those killed. We celebrate the unity, courage, and care being shown by millions of people across Australia as we mourn together.
We have seen what happens when a community is singled out and scapegoated based on their identity, ethnicity, race or religion; and we reject efforts to create further division through fear, polarisation, and disinformation.
We come together and echo the words of the NSW Faith Affairs Council that “We will not let hatred and violence divide us. Across all our cultures and faiths, we will stand united in sympathy, compassion and solidarity.”
We are resolute in our collective commitment to defend everyone’s rights to safety, culture and faith, and to build a peaceful society.
We commit to deepening our understanding of how anti-Jewish racism arises, in order to better identify and prevent it from being committed against the Australian Jewish community ever again.
We stand with the Australian Jewish community, in love and solidarity.
Tom McIlroy
Sussan Ley visits Ahmed al-Ahmed in hospital
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, and Coalition frontbencher Julian Leeser have met with Bondi hero Ahmed al-Ahmed in hospital this morning.
He was shot after disarming one of the gunmen at Bondi last week and has had a long line of official visitors, including the NSW premier, Chris Minns, and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
Ley will join commemorations at Bondi tonight.
Caitlin Cassidy
‘It is hard to imagine a stronger community’, Russian Jewish community leader tells vigil
Next to speak is Anna Maylis, the Zionist Federation of Australia’s Kangarusski community coordinator.
She says 10-year-old Matilda, who was killed a week ago in the shooting, was a student of hers and came to all of her events for the Russian Jewish community since she was three years old.
Maylis attended an event with Matilda and her family earlier that day, before they headed to the Hanukah event at Bondi beach, as did many of the victims.
She says in Bondi, her Russian accent is “very normal”, but the Jewish Russians are a small community, and all very close. They usually come together at Sydney’s only Russian restaurant, or at Bondi, but now they “meet at funerals every day”.
There is not a family in our community that is not personally connected to the victims, many of us were here …
Most of us have experienced antisemitism in its ugliest form … we lived through it. But what did this do to us? It made us strong. It is hard to imagine a stronger community … The whole of Australia is mourning. Thank you Australia, we need you.
Crowds in white gather despite the heat at Bondi beachside vigil
Caitlin Cassidy
Lynda Ben-Menashe, president of the National Council of Jewish Women Australia, is the first to speak at the vigil at Bondi Pavilion.
The site is packed despite the heat. Ben-Menashe says like many of the victims from the shooting, her family was born in Odesa and fled to Australia to escape persecution.
I have been a proud Australian citizen all my life … I have been inundated with messages of condolence and support … an outpouring of love from allies, friends and also strangers. Today is a testament to the decency of Australian people. This circle of love and support is the circle we must enlarge.
She particularly recalls a message she received from a woman in Israel whose kibbutz was invaded on 7 October 2023. She says 62 of the woman’s friends, family and neighbours were killed.
She understands the danger we are facing in this country, wraps her arms around us, and tells us to rebuild.
Bondi Pavilion floral tributes to be removed on Monday
A floral memorial left by community members to honour the memory of those killed during the Bondi attacks will be removed on Monday for historical preservation.
Notices announcing the decision were posted to lamp-posts around the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday.
The Sydney Jewish Museum and the Australian Jewish Historical Society will collect the materials to preserve them.
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In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and Griefline on 1300 845 745. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Caitlin Cassidy
Crowds gather at Bondi Pavilion to mark one week since shooting
A crowd of hundreds have gathered at Bondi Pavilion in white to mark a week since the terror attack took the lives of 15 people.
Formal proceedings have started with a rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a song that was composed by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, who were Jewish, followed by a minute of silence.
It is a sweltering day in Sydney, and days out from Christmas there would usually be a festive mood in the air. Instead, screens are being set up on the promenade for a memorial this evening, and police helicopters circle overhead.
Among those to have gathered at Bondi Pavilion is the minister for social services, Tanya Plibersek, the governor general, Sam Mostyn, and independent member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan. Warringah MP Zali Stegall and former Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel are also in attendance.
Support shown to Jewish community has been ‘touching’, rabbi says
Efforts to show solidarity with the Jewish community have been welcomed even as people work through their grief, community leaders say.
Rabbi Eli Feldman, leader of the Newtown synagogue, said the community was still “in shock” and “devastated” a week on from the Bondi attack.
You know, it’s not just numbers, it’s people. People have died. People are suffering. People are in hospital. A good friend of mine is in hospital. Had a surgery yesterday. His father was executed – he couldn’t even go to the funeral.
Feldman said the support has been shown to date has been “touching” with political leaders and, leaders from other faiths contacting him in solidarity with the Jewish community, and flowers being left outside the rabbi’s synagogue in Newtown.
It’s so touching and we appreciate it so much. And I think that practically, what every Australian can do, in addition to showing their support, is also to help those widows and orphans and help those families.
On efforts to address antisemitism and anti-Jewish hatred in the community, Feldman said “nothing happens in a vacuum and nothing happens by itself” and that “we have to look at – where is the ideology coming from? How is being inculcated within young people in our country?”
Ultimately, we’re all created in the image of God and that’s what every single human being is. And I think that if people are educated in the positive side, they’ll be less susceptible for the wicked ideologies.
Here is more on how you can help at this time:
The families of those killed and injured during the Bondi attack a week ago are still grappling with the enormity of what has taken place, community leaders say.
Speaking to ABC News this morning, Alyx Ryvchin from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said he had been spending time with the families.
They’re in a bewildered state, they’re still in shock, they don’t know what to do with themselves.
He said there was “a lot of anger” in the community at present.
We’re cycling through the various emotions, the various stages, and there’s a real feeling of having been let down and betrayed; the community wants answers and we want change.
A key piece of Port Arthur-era gun reform remains unfinished. Could it have helped prevent the Bondi attack?
A national firearms register, which would track weapons across the country in real time, was a priority for law enforcement and gun control advocates after the 1996 Port Athur massacre.
But almost 30 years later, it remains unfinished.
The Australian Federal Police Association president, Alex Caruana, told Guardian Australia this week that a robust national firearms database would have allowed New South Wales police to better assess the risk posed by the Bondi gunmen ahead of Sunday’s terror attack.
Sajid Akram, who was shot dead by police, held a firearm licence and owned six guns, which he and his son Naveed allegedly used to open fire on Jewish families celebrating Hanukah at Bondi beach.
It was disclosed on Monday that Naveed, who has now been charged with 59 offences including 15 counts of murder, came to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) in October 2019 “on the basis of being associated with others”.
For more, read Ariel Bogle’s full report here:
