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PM pledges to adopt all recommendations in Bondi report

Source: AAP

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to adopt all the recommendations from a highly anticipated report into the Bondi terror attack, including gun reform and intelligence-sharing improvements.

The Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion’s interim report delivered 14 recommendations on Thursday, including increasing security at Jewish events and festivals.

Albanese said the Commonwealth would adopt all of the recommendations amid a global rise in antisemitism.

Also recommended was a review of Australia’s joint counter-terrorism network, including leadership structures, team integration, systems access and information-sharing arrangements.

Governments should also prioritise the rollout of nationally consistent gun laws, the report said.

Of the recommendations, five remain confidential for security reasons.

The attack killed 15 people attending a Hanukkah festival at the busy beach in December, prompting the federal government to eventually launch the wide-ranging inquiry.

Despite recommending reviews of existing systems, former High Court judge and commission head Virginia Bell said no issue “requiring urgent or immediate action” had been identified.

The report recommended prioritising efforts to implement the National Firearms Agreement to deliver a nationally consistent approach and National Gun Buyback Scheme to purchase and destroy surplus, newly banned, and illegal firearms.

Albanese said the National Security Committee had met and would implement all the recommendations relevant to the Commonwealth, urging states and territories to also engage in reform.

“We support the recommendations – all of them,” he said.

“I can assure the Australian public that the government will do everything necessary to protect the community.”

Albanese pushed back on suggestions the recommendation for increased security at Jewish events showed the government had not done enough to combat antisemitism.

“There has been a rise in antisemitism that is a global phenomenon that has occurred since the October actions of Hamas,” he said.

“Governments need to respond to it. We are responding to it.”

Albanese described changes to Australia’s gun laws as “necessary”, citing the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 that killed 35 people as a similar catalyst for reform.

port arthur

Family and community members at the 20th anniversary of the Port Arthur shooting in 2016. Photo: AAP

“This week, just a couple of days after we commemorated the tragedy that occurred at Port Arthur, that resulted in the country coming together with uniform action in a bipartisan way … and the nation is safer because of that,” Albanese said.

Sajid Akram was shot dead during the Bondi massacre. His son, Naveed Akram, remains before the courts on terrorism and multiple murder charges.

The commission will begin an initial block of public hearings in Sydney from May 4, addressing Jewish-Australian experiences of antisemitism.

A final report will be handed down before the end of the year.

-AAP

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