The former Premier of Victoria, Ted Baillieu, has been contemplating making a public statement after thorough discussions with the Jewish community, spurred by the prime minister’s remarks and mounting demands for an investigation into Australia’s most fatal terrorist attack and the rise of antisemitism in the country, according to 9News.
In a revealing interview with Today, Baillieu, Victoria’s 46th premier, joined an increasing number of distinguished Australians, judges, and political leaders urging for action. “I had hoped that the community’s call itself would suffice, but if my support as a former premier adds any weight, I am ready to lend it,” Baillieu shared with Today‘s Simon Love.
He admitted that while he’s not typically one to voice his opinions loudly, he feels that in this instance, it’s crucial. “I’m not disposed to shouting from the hilltops often but on this occasion, I think it’s essential,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of speaking out.
Baillieu proposed a model that involves scrutinizing issues related to antisemitism throughout Australia. This model aims to safeguard the Jewish community while also exemplifying leadership and trust nationwide. He believes that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should initiate a comprehensive federal inquiry to address these pressing issues.
Baillieu has declared a model which includes an interrogation of matters relating to antisemitism across Australia and which protects the Jewish community while demonstrating trust and leadership across the nation.
He said Albanese needed to call a full federal inquiry.
“It should be a three-person commission, ideally including a Jewish representative and determined with opposition consultation,” Baillieu said.
Former Liberal Premier Denis Napthine has also confirmed his view is for a full federal inquiry.
“I would encourage former premiers of Victoria, Leaders of our community, and current premiers, right throughout Australia, to support a royal commission,” Napthine told 9News.
“The federal government needs to act on this antisemitic rise in our community, and needs to act in response to the absolutely horrific events at Bondi.”
Victoria’s 43rd Premier Jeff Kennett became the first of the state’s former leaders to publicly state his position, using a regular newspaper column published Wednesday to declare a federal inquiry was justified.
In the column, Kennett said despite not normally being a supporter of royal commissions, he believed the process would rebuild trust.
In a seperate interview with 9News, Kennett described the commission as a way of ridding society of a cancer.
“This needs to be a national royal commission, because the issues are Australia wide,” he said.
“So here in Victoria, for instance, we’ve seen, again, a failure of leadership, which has allowed these acts, to take place.”
Albanese has withstood several high-profile calls, including from the deceased victims’ families, to call a federal inquiry â citing advice from current experts and advisors.
Although when asked directly if the heads of the national security agencies and law enforcement agencies have advised him against holding a royal commission, Albanese refused to say who had given the advice.
“We have a national security committee and we receive advice from all of those bodies as part of that process,” he said.
In a news conference alongside the Australian Federal Police commissioner, in which it was revealed the Bondi gunmen were suspected to have acted alone and not part of a terror cell, Albanese again defended calls to not call a royal commission.
“In the meantime, as well, we want to make sure that there are no gaps in the federal system. So, our position is not out of convenience, it is out of conviction that this is the right direction to go in,” he said.
“And the actual experts who are the current experts, have all recommended this course of action and we’re following the advice that we receive from authorities who are in 2025 dealing with this atrocity.”
Baillieu noted former premiers from other states including Peter Beattie, according to The Australian newspaper, had joined the calls.
“I’d be surprised if right across the country, people who have held leadership positions (or) have not, if they’ve not been thinking about this, I’d be surprised,” Baillieu said.
9News attempted to contact Beattie to clarify his position.
Baillieu has stated the prime minister’s inability to call a royal commission was unsustainable, as lessons couldn’t be learnt nationwide from the country’s worst terror attack without one.
The former premier also stated he had been contacted by prominent leaders across the Jewish community and beyond demanding a public position.
“I think the call is irresistible and I think it is inevitable, and I would encourage the Prime Minister to embrace the fact that he’s going to have to change his mind and the sooner he does it, the better,” he said.
9News has contacted all living former Victorian premiers including John Brumby, Steve Bracks and Daniel Andrews to clarify their position.
James Merlino was also contacted for comment for this story, as was the office of Victoria’s current premier Jacinta Allan.
As it stands, the NSW Royal Commission flagged by Premier Chris Minns would only capture matters under the terms of reference set by that state’s government.
Albanese has declared the Commonwealth would cooperate with that inquiry.
Although the prime minister’s independent review into the incident, to be led by former distinguished public servant Dennis Richardson AC, would assess how Commonwealth agencies operated in the context of the Bondi terrorist attack, it may not directly capture any incidents outside of the state of NSW or unconnected directly to the Bondi incident, including rising antisemitic incidents across Australia.
The terms of reference do however say that Richardson may “engage ⦠to the extent necessary, agencies in other states and territories.”
Baillieu said the issue should inspire bipartisanship among political and civic leaders in a similar way to that the Port Arthur massacre did in the late 1990s.
