Commissioner seeks extension for Bondi report, confronts Jewish frustration over probe

Commissioner Virginia Bell will push the Albanese government to extend the delivery date of the antisemitism royal commission’s final report to avoid presenting her findings while Australia mourns the one-year anniversary of the Bondi massacre.

Bell proposed a four-day extension, moving the delivery date from December 14 to December 18, in opening remarks on the final day of hearings on Wednesday.

The commissioner is due to hand her findings to Governor-General Sam Mostyn and her state counterparts on the one-year anniversary of the terror attack, which claimed the lives of the 15 Australians celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach.

“The 14th of December is the anniversary of the massacre. It will be a solemn occasion marked by memorials,” Bell said.

“I am aware of concern within the Jewish community that delivery of the report on the anniversary would be a distraction. I fully understand that concern, and to avoid that distraction, I have asked for a short extension of the term with a view to the submission of my final report on Friday, the 18th of December.”

The royal commission will finish two days earlier than expected, affording Bell almost four months to mull over the findings of her report.

She acknowledged frustration among members of the Jewish community on Wednesday over the commission’s failure to publicly investigate the circumstances leading to the Bondi massacre, having probed such matters in closed hearings while a criminal case against alleged terrorist Naveed Akram continues.

She proposed the potential release of confidential aspects of her final report once proceedings against Akram, accused of orchestrating the Bondi massacre with father Sajid, are complete.

An interim report presented to Mostyn in April contained several confidential findings blocked from public view. It related to the circumstances leading to the terror attack, and scrutinised potential weaknesses in the Australia’s national security frameworks.

“The commission has had to take care to conduct its inquiry in a way that does not occasion prejudice to pending criminal proceedings, and this has necessitated examination of the third term of reference, which relates to the attack being conducted in closed hearings,” she said.

The royal commission has received over 20,000 submissions and heard from almost 300 witnesses. Bell said she is well-placed to document the antisemitism that has “flourished” since the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East almost three years ago sparked a “marked increase” of anti-Jewish prejudice through Australia.

“The commission’s focus has been on hearing from ordinary Jewish Australians from all walks of life,” Bell said.

“Laying out the picture of the lived experience of antisemitism is a critical part of any steps to combat that phenomenon.”

Ten witnesses from a range of community and religious groups have been called on Wednesday. Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of the Chabad of Bondi, whose son-in-law Rabbi Eli Schlanger was killed in the December attack, is the final witness due to appear.

Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said he would “wait with bated breath” for the outcomes from the commission, as he urged Australians to take personal responsibility for social cohesion.

“What’s critical is how we respond as a society, from governments down to the man and woman on the street,” Ryvchin told ABC TV. “The royal commission has heard harrowing testimony that it can’t ignore.”

The end date for the royal commission’s hearings has come under fire from NSW Premier Chris Minns and federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor. Minns lent his support to an extension of a “couple of weeks” if necessary, saying this would be “money well spent”.

A group of distinguished national security leaders wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, as reported by The Australian, to raise concern about the speed of the probe.

The group, which included former governor-general David Hurley, claimed the commission wasn’t given enough time to probe the rise of antisemitism and other extremism in Australia, nor afforded the opportunity to follow claims raised in evidence.

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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.