Bondi Beach terror attack: Albanese, Minns vow to stamp out anti-Semitism as Ley says they let it fester

Anthony Albanese has vowed to do whatever is necessary to stamp out anti-Semitism in the wake of the mass shooting at a Jewish community event in Bondi Beach.

But the Opposition accused the Prime Minister and his government of allowing anti-Semitism to fester unchecked in Australia.

Fifteen people were killed on Sunday evening and dozens more are in hospital after two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukah celebration at the iconic location.

One of the perpetrators, a 50-year-old man is also dead and the other, his 24-year-old son, is in hospital.

The Prime Minister described the terror attack as “an act of pure evil, an act of anti-Semitism” that was deliberately targeted at the Jewish community.

“The Jewish community are hurting today. Today, all Australians wrap our arms around them and say, we stand with you,” he said.

“We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge and we will eradicate it together.

“Australia will never submit to division, violence or hatred and we will come through this together. We refuse to let them divide us as a nation.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the Government hadn’t heeded the warning signs over the past two years or done enough to tackle anti-Semitism.

“There is anger. There is palpable anger, because anti-Semitism in Australia has been left to fester,” she said.

“We have a government that sees anti-Semitism as a problem to be managed, not an evil that needs to be eradicated.

“Everything must change from today in how governments respond.”

She called on Mr Albanese to commit to implementing all the recommendations in anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report, which was handed to the Government in July, and said the Opposition would “do whatever it takes to force the strongest possible action from governments to keep Australians safe, to keep Jewish Australians safe, and to secure justice”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns thanked people for the overwhelming public outrage at the attack and support for the Jewish community.

He said there should be no tolerance for racism or Jewish hatred.

“We need to be clear and unambiguous that we will fight it everywhere we see it, whether it’s destructive, horrible acts of violence or chants, mottos and internet posts on the internet,” he said.

“Wherever it is, we need to fight anti-Semitism. It is toxic. It is cancerous within a community. And as you can see from last night, it leads to devastating, devastating implications for the people of our country.”

He said his government was already looking at whether it could tighten gun laws in response, after police revealed the older of the two perpetrators had a gun licence and six legal weapons.

Mr Albanese similarly said he would look at whatever law changes were necessary after the investigation.

Ms Segal, the anti-Semitism envoy, welcomed the calls to come together and embrace the Jewish community, but said that alone was not sufficient.

“We need more than embracing, we need to understand that this pure evil is anti-Semitism. It’s not random thoughts, it’s true anti-Semitism, which is the Australia that we cannot accept,” she told ABC radio.

“We have to do things about this.”

While there had been some progress on her blueprint to combat the problems, she now wanted to see politicians and leaders “approach that with new energy”.

She anticipated the government’s initial response would be to strengthen security for Jewish institutions and community places, but said there needed to be a long-term strategy that dealt with education and online media as well.

She spoke with Mr Albanese on Monday morning, and the Prime Minister vowed to continue working with the community.

“Anti-Semitism is a scourge. It’s been around for a long period of time. We need to do whatever we can to stamp it out,” Mr Albanese said.

Former Liberal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called for accountability from the Albanese Government, saying leaders had “failed their first and most fundamental duty to protect the safety of their citizens”.

“The news coming through by the hour of children losing their lives, of parents losing their lives, of Holocaust survivors losing their lives. Who is going to be accountable for this?” he told Sky News.

“Who is going to take personal responsibility for this?

“It starts with our Prime Minister, and it goes down through his ministers and everybody who is in a position of responsibility who has failed in their public duty to protect our citizens.”