Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has demanded that senior Labor figures who have oversight over intelligence and policing be hauled before the Royal Commission to answer for severe staffing shortages impacting counter terrorism.
In a social media post on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader urged the government to extend the Royal Commission to properly examine claims of shortages in counterterrorism operations in the lead up to the Bondi massacre where 15 people were allegedly murdered by two evil Islamic extremists.
It comes after News24.com.au revealed that a bombshell submission detailing critical staffing shortages in terror taskforces at the AFP had been received by the Royal Commission, but no relevant terror personnel had been called to testify.
The whistleblower, whose identity cannot be revealed, was a senior AFP commander who told the commission the agency knew of severe staffing shortages impacting counter terrorism, including “critical” vacancies before the Bondi Beach shooting on December 14 last year, in which 15 people were murdered.
Mr Taylor said Australians “need to hear” from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Education Minister Jason Clare, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.
The Opposition Leader also called for AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett and the hate preachers and activists who have “spread misery on our streets” during years of protests and marches, as well as other law enforcement and counter-terrorism specialists.
“This morning, I visited the site of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack where 15 people were murdered by two evil Islamic extremists,” Mr Taylor said.
“Thanks to a former AFP whistleblower, we now know that there was extreme pressure on counter-terrorism resources at the time.
“If that’s not reason enough for the Royal Commission into antisemitism to be extended, another is that key witnesses were not called to give evidence.”
Mr Taylor said the government should extend the Royal Commission, but claimed it wouldn’t because “Labor and this Prime Minister don’t want answers”.
“Ever since the abhorrent and vile scenes at the Sydney Opera House in October 2023, the Albanese government has ignored the crisis of antisemitism afflicting Australia and won’t condemn antisemitism without condemning other forms of racism in the same breath,” he said.
“Unless the government confronts, let alone acknowledges, the problem of Islamic extremism in Australia, there will be more attacks.”
On Tuesday, News24.com.au revealed that the AFP whistleblower told the commission that capability issues were well known by the agency, with a 2024 executive briefing warning Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations vacancy rates had exceeded 25 per cent.
On top of the staffing shortage, the whistleblower’s 25-page dossier, submitted to the commission, raised concerns about prioritising counterterrorism resources.
The former AFP officer asked the royal commission to examine whether operational independence had been compromised.
“The commission may further wish to examine whether existing governance arrangements provide sufficient safeguards to ensure that operational policing decisions, intelligence assessments and public communications remain operationally independent and are not influenced, or perceived to be influenced, by external considerations,” the AFP commander wrote.
“Public confidence in Australia’s national policing agency depends upon both operational independence and the perception of operational independence.”
It is understood this line in the submission related to concerns that the AFP was required to balance the threat of Islamic terror equally with that of right wing extremism, even if one threat required different resourcing levels.