Australia’s prime minister has announced a sweeping crackdown on antisemitism in the wake of a deadly terror attack on Sydney that left Jewish leaders anguished and infuriated.
A raft of offences he will look to fold into new legislation includes “aggravated hate speech” aimed at Islamic preachers who promote violence.
The country’s interior ministry will also be given additional powers to cancel or reject visas of those who spread “hate and division”.
“Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge,” Anthony Albanese said, speaking in the nation’s capital, Canberra, on Thursday as harrowing funerals continued for those killed.
He has been harshly criticised for focusing on tougher gun laws since the massacre and less on the increasing vilification of Jewish people in Australia, which Jewish leaders feared may lead to extreme violence.
The prime minister said “hate” would become an aggravating factor in sentencing in cases of online threats and harassment, adding there would be a new offence for “serious vilification based on race or advocating racial supremacy”.
He has come under intense pressure to do much to combat antisemitism following Sunday’s killing of 15 Jewish festival goers at Sydney’s Bondi Beach by two gunmen now known to have had strong radical Islamic motivations.
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“Of course I acknowledge that more could have been done, and I accept my responsibility for the part in that as prime minister of Australia,” Albanese told reporters.
Showing some contrition for both the rise of anti-semitism since his government was elected in 2022, and the intelligence failures that preceded Sunday’s attack, Albanese added: “I have done my best to respond. Do I regret anything? Anyone in this position would regret not doing more, and any inadequacies which are there.
“But what we need to do is to move forward. We are taking action. We have taken action.”
Natalie Biller, who knew several victims of Sunday’s attack, said she was angry that concerns from the Jewish community over the past two years had not been heeded. “We warned the government — we did warn it,” she told the Financial Review.
“There were red flags … there were so many warnings, but the worst warning was how [the government has] allowed [Pro-Palestinian supporters ] to keep protesting weekly.”
Albanese also said on Thursday his government would fully implement the recommendations of the government’s own antisemitism envoy to combat attacks on Jews.
“It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge, much more,” Albanese said.
His announcement followed the surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach massacre being charged with 15 counts of murder.
Naveed Akram, 24, was in his hospital bed after waking from a coma when he was charged, having previously refused to be interviewed by Sydney police.
Sajid and Naveed Akram. The father died at the scene and Naveed was gravely wounded
He is accused of perpetrating the massacre alongside his father, Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot dead by police at the scene.
Two gunmen used high-powered rifles in the attack to fire into a crowd of more than 1,000 people. Naveed was gravely wounded, but if convicted could now face life in prison.
He has been charged with 44 other offences, including 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder. He has also been charged in relation to displaying a prohibited terrorist symbol, an Islamic State flag, on his car and one count of placing an explosive in or near a building with intent to cause harm.
Sydney police were told that Naveed had been associating with Islamic extremists before they granted a gun licence to his father, it emerged on Wednesday. The New South Wales police were told by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) of Naveed’s Islamic links — information that resulted in him being placed on a “known entity management list” in about 2021. The list is a police register of individuals who have attracted the interest of counterterrorism authorities.
Yet the force still granted gun licences to Sajid in 2023, including for the weapons that were used in Sunday’s attacks, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Australia state parliament to debate new gun laws
Detectives spoke to Naveed at his hospital bedside in the presence of his legal aid lawyers. He declined to be interviewed over his alleged involvement in the Bondi attack.
New South Wales state police said: “Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community. Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Isis, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.”
Naveed did not appear before a hastily convened court hearing on Wednesday, which has been adjourned until April 8 next year. The Commonwealth director of public prosecutions sought and was granted the usually long adjournment for the brief of evidence to be served due to the large number of charges and the complexity of the case.
• From the Philippines to Bondi beach: the gunmen’s path to Isis
Despite the charges being announced, the investigation continues in full force, Krissy Barrett, the Australian federal police (AFP) commissioner said on Wednesday. A trip thjat the Akrams took to the Philippines last month, allegedly to receive military-style training there, remains a prominent line of inquiry.
“There is significant digital material being forensically examined. Further search warrants will be executed, and the AFP is continuing to work closely with our international partners,” Barrett said in a video statement.
Up to 80 detectives remain in the Bondi area taking statements from those who witnessed the attack.
DAVID GRAY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
“Families will continue to bury their loved ones over the coming days. It is hard not to be moved by the weight of grief that is hanging over Sydney,” Barrett added. “It’s a reminder of the cruel and hateful act perpetrated against the Jewish community. As AFP police commissioner, I say to Jewish Australians: you do not and you should not share this grief alone.”
The Bureau of Immigration Philippines has confirmed that the father and son arrived in the Philippines from Australia on November 1, declaring the southern city of Davao as their destination. They stayed for a month, returning to Australia 16 days before the massacre.
Davao is the capital of Mindanao, the militant southern island of the Philippines, which has been a centre for Islamic militants since the 1990s.
The president’s office has said it has found no evidence of the attackers receiving terrorist training in the Philippines. “[President Marcos] strongly rejects the sweeping statement and the misleading characterisation of the Philippines as the Isis training hotspot,” Claire Castro, a presidential spokeswoman, said.
“No evidence has been presented to support claims that the country was used for terrorist training,” she added, reading from a national security council statement. “There is no validated report or confirmation that individuals involved in the Bondi beach incident received any form of training in the Philippines.”
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Citing “senior counterterrorism officials”, Australia’s state broadcaster previously said investigators were examining the Akrams’ ties to an international jihadist network after discovering that they travelled to the Philippines for “military-style training”.
Australia’s police and national security agencies will also be braced for inquiries about the adequacy of the nation’s counter-extremist intelligence and deterrence systems.