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Anthony Albanese has denied claims of a backflip on a Royal Commission into Bondi, despite accusations he was dragged ‘kicking and screaming’ into the inquiry and boasted it was announced in ‘record time’.
The Prime Minister had fiercely rejected calls for a Royal Commission just ten days earlier, warning such an investigation would be too divisive.
‘We want urgency and unity, not division and delay,’ he said at the time.
But in a dramatic reversal, Albanese yesterday announced a Commonwealth Royal Commission after weeks of mounting pressure, driven by a campaign led by Bondi victims’ families and backed by sports stars, national security authorities and MPs from within his own party.
Defending the sudden shift during an interview on Sunrise, the Prime Minister suggested a Royal Commission was already effectively underway.
‘What we know is that the New South Wales Government had already announced a Royal Commission.
‘We said that we would fully cooperate with that. That in effect would have been a Commonwealth Royal Commission.
‘But just around events in New South Wales and antisemitism there. We needed to make sure that there weren’t two Royal Commissions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted a Royal Commission into antisemitism was announced in ‘record time’ – despite having rejected the idea just ten days earlier as too ‘divisive’ during an interview with Sunrise host Edwina Bartholomew
Under mounting pressure from Bondi victims’ families – backed by sports stars, security chiefs and MPs from his own party – Albanese dramatically reversed course and announced a Commonwealth Royal Commission yesterday
‘Now, the New South Wales Government last night announced that they would not be proceeding with theirs – that was important. We also wanted to make sure that there wasn’t any interference with any legal processes.’
Albanese also insisted the government had acted carefully and appropriately.
‘I’ve sat down in the homes of families who are grieving. I’ve listened to them. We’ve also made sure that we’ve got this right in an orderly way,’ he said.
‘This is actually a record time for the calling of a Royal Commission. The last funeral was just two days ago.
‘We needed to get the right commissioner, the right terms of reference, in the right time frame, because we can’t afford to not get this right.’
When Sunrise host Edwina Bartholomew pressed him on why Australians had been left waiting for a Royal Commission, Albanese rejected the claim.
‘No, what we did do was act immediately on the things that were required – the immediate priorities,’ he said.
‘The immediate priority was: are there any national security issues arising from this? We needed to examine through the National Security Committee whether these people were part of a wider cell, whether there’d be other events following.
Daily Mail Australia Political editor Peter Van Onselen accused the Prime Minister of ‘gaslighting’ Australians, claiming he was dragged ‘kicking and screaming’ into the inquiry and is now rewriting history to deny a backflip
‘If you look at terrorist actions around the world, what you often have is one event followed by another. We needed to prioritise those national security issues and sit down with our security and intelligence agencies.’
Bartholomew acknowledged the security concerns but said many believed both processes could have happened at the same time.
‘No one disputes that, Prime Minister. But many people arguing that the two things could have happened at the same time,’ she said.
Albanese rejected that suggestion, insisting there was a proper sequence to follow.
‘I have attempted to do in an orderly way, the way that my government functions is orderly, considered get to the right decision, do it in the right order, and that is what we have sought to do here. And of course, my heart breaks for these families.’
Daily Mail Australia political editor Peter Van Onselen accused the Prime Minister of ‘gaslighting’ the public.
‘The PM is now gaslighting Australians that he never really opposed a Royal Commission in the first place.
‘Worse than that he’s gaslighting the families of the victims. He’s been dragged kicking and screaming into calling a Commonwealth Royal Commission.
‘You don’t flag concerns over social cohesion and claim that your “actual experts” don’t think a Royal Commission is the right way to go if you’re genuinely planning to announce one.
‘For Albo to try and spin this backflip into a well timed, well planned next step is an embarrassingly fraudulent nonsense.’
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