Coalition 'flabbergasted' by Labor's response to calls for Bondi royal commission into antisemitism

The opposition has slammed the government for brushing aside calls for a royal commission into the deadly terror attack on Sydney's Jewish community, as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take further action to protect the community.

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg furiously called on the government to take practical steps, including bans on radical "hate preachers" and protests, stronger immigration laws and a royal commission, in an emotional speech at the site where 15 people were killed by two gunmen on Sunday.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Wednesday argued that "the last thing that I want is the delays that happen on a royal commission" and insisted that all resources should go towards keeping the community safe now.

That was echoed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Thursday, who said he did not want law enforcement agencies to be "delayed or deterred" by an inquiry.

Coalition frontbencher James Paterson said he was "flabbergasted" by that response, declaring you can "act and have an inquiry at the same time".

"The only thing the Albanese government has done for the last two years is delay action. So for them to use that as an excuse now for not getting to the bottom of how this happened, I think, is a disgrace," he said.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley attended the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of the victims of the attack, on Wednesday and several of her shadow ministers have spent time at the makeshift memorial on Bondi Beach.

Senator Patterson said he witnessed Mr Frydenberg — who is Jewish — deliver his remarks and that it was "incredibly well received" by the community in Bondi.

"I absolutely understand his anger and frustration, and I can tell you, as someone who spent the last few days with the Jewish community in Melbourne and Sydney, it is a sentiment which is overwhelmingly shared by the Jewish community," he said.

Former bureaucrat Dennis Richardson, who served as ASIO director-general, said there needed to be a balance struck with moves towards any inquiry.

Mr Richardson said royal commissions took a long time and there was a tendency for governments to hide behind them, though they could compel people to give evidence under oath, while commissions of inquiry could give quicker answers.

"We ought to address the issues sitting behind that. One of them is hate speech. There's no point in having legislation relating to hate speech unless it is enforced.

"And in recent years, it hasn't been enforced with the rigour that it should be."

Government flags further measures

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Mr Albanese announced plans with state and territory leaders to strengthen Australia's already tough gun laws even further, including by barring non-citizens from holding a licence.

But critics said gun reform would not address the underlying issue of antisemitism, which has been on the rise since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.

Assistant immigration minister Matt Thistlewaite flagged that the government would unveil a package of measures to strengthen laws to fight antisemitism over the coming days and weeks, but did not elaborate on what they would be.

The prime minister has left the door open to ramping up hate speech laws, which were strengthened in February in response to rising antisemitism and Islamophobia, but questions have since been raised about whether the legislation is being enforced.

Labor MP Mark Dreyfus — a former attorney-general and one of the few Jewish federal parliamentarians — said the government "can and should do more".

"We've got to do everything we can. We've got to work with each other on what can be done," he said.