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TRANSCRIPT:
It's been just over four months since fifteen people were killed in a shooting at a Chanukah by the Sea event at Bondi Beach on the 14th of December.
Jenny Roytur recalls the day clearly.
"Our whole family went there every year for decades. And unfortunately, my uncle did not come home, and my cousin was in a hospital for over four weeks. So, um, realistically, my whole life and my family's life has changed from before to after."
After the attack, she joined others in campaigning for the implementation of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, which was established in January.
The commission has now tabled its first interim report, with the aim of identifying any urgent issues that could have hindered the prevention or response to the shooting.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told SBS he welcomes the initial findings.
"The recommendations show very clearly that in terms of the government's, you know, legal regulatory frameworks did not hinder the agencies that we are responsible for in either preventing or responding to the Bondi attack, and that there are no urgent changes that are required to keep Australians safe."
The report contains 14 recommendations, including five that have been classified as confidential and not made public.
Independent public policy researcher and expert on royal commissions, Scott Prasser, has told SBS that makes it difficult to interpret exactly what has been recommended and agreed to so far.
He says he's hopeful that when public hearings begin, so too can the process of bringing important issues to light.
"And these things have eventually gotta come out. And we've had royal commissions into security issues before, and yes, there's gotta be some confidentiality, uh, but we also wanna know what's going on. The whole purpose of a royal commission is to get at the truth. That's what we wanna know."
After a meeting with the National Security Committee, the Prime Minister has confirmed the government's plans to adopt all of the recommendations relevant to the Commonwealth - a commitment reiterated by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
"I'm pleased in terms of the findings of the Royal Commission, in terms of our general national security settings. It is also the case that they've made a number of recommendations where they believe that we can further enhance the safety of Australians, and I'm pleased to be in a situation where the government today has resolved through the National Security Committee to implement all of them."
Mr Albanese has also voiced support for a more consistent national firearms agreement, and moves to implement a national gun buyback scheme.
"So two of the recommendations make it clear that we should progress with nationally consistent gun reform. I certainly hope that that occurs, and would, uh, continue to engage constructively with state and territory governments to say that this is reform which is necessary."
Other recommendations include that the Federal government consider appointing a full time Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, and that a review of Joint Counter-Terrorism teams around Australia be conducted, with a report to be submitted to police commissioners and the Director-General of security.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor says while he's yet to look at the report closely- he's concerned over the report's findings on the resourcing of national security agencies in Australia.
While the report does not explicitly raise concerns about under-resourcing, it does ask questions about the adequacy of funding for counter-terrorism across the National Intelligence Community.
Mr Taylor says the report also raises questions about the government's use of the wrong crisis management committee in response to the attack.
"The report has also said that the government used the wrong committee to deal with these issues. They didn't use the national coordination mechanism, and they should have done so, but I'm going to look more closely at the report over the next little while. I am deeply concerned about the initial parts of it that I've seen, but I'll have a better look at it over the next little while."
The report also recommends New South Wales Police increase security at high risk Jewish festivals and events, and provides details on how police provided limited coverage on the day of the attack, despite a prior high-risk threat assessment of escalating antisemitic incidents.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon says it's premature to say whether there was any failure in sharing intelligence, but all recommendations that impact the agency will be implemented.
Premier Chris Minns has also pledged his government's willingness to introduce any necessary reforms.
"To bring about the kind of change to the law and the culture in our community to stop hate from spilling into violence in Australia's largest city."
Co-CEO of the Executive Council of the Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, has called the findings of the interim report a step in the right direction.
But he says many key questions are yet to be answered.
"There are recommendations there which go towards better collaboration between organisations and agencies, information-sharing, preparedness for such an attack, which is really important. But I think the burning questions which the Jewish community has after Bondi about how these individuals were radicalized, how many more share their ideology and perhaps their intent, how they were able to train in plain sight, travel to terrorist hotspots, carry out reconnaissance, all of these things, and they weren't picked up. They were able to acquire weapons. These are things that the community desperately wants to know."
The first public hearings for the inquiry will begin next week.
It will examine the events surrounding the shooting, and hear from members of the Jewish community about experiences of antisemitism.
A final report will be handed down by the end of the year, ahead of the first anniversary of the shooting.
