In a recent development, former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg openly criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to initiate an intelligence review, urging instead for a royal commission to be established.
Frydenberg, a prominent figure within the Jewish Australian community, has been vocal since the tragic events at Bondi Beach on December 14, where a terrorist attack resulted in the deaths of 15 innocent individuals.
He has consistently advocated for a royal commission to investigate the attack, which involved alleged shooter Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid, targeting a Jewish festival.
Prime Minister Albanese announced on Sunday a comprehensive review focusing on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and related agencies’ performance.
The investigation will be spearheaded by intelligence expert Dennis Richardson, who will examine the actions of these agencies leading up to the Bondi Beach incident.
The findings of this review are expected to be made public upon its completion in April 2026.
Frydenberg responded to the announcement in a social media post and claimed it wouldn’t go to ‘the heart of the issues’, particularly antisemitism.
‘It’s weak, it’s wrong, it’s an abrogation of your first and fundamental duty to protect all Australian citizens after the deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil at Bondi Beach,’ Frydenberg wrote.
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg (pictured) has slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s intelligence review and repeated the calls for a federal royal commission into the Bondi attack
Two alleged gunmen took the lives of 15 innocent people attending a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach on December 14
‘Your departmental review will not go to the heart of the issues and the radicalisation within our country, which has been allowed to explode on your watch.’
The former treasurer asked Albanese, ‘What are you afraid a Commonwealth Royal Commission will uncover?’ and pointed to NSW Premier Chris Minns who already endorsed a royal commission.
‘No one could think that the extremist threat is limited to NSW. These are federal offences, federal responsibilities and failures at the federal level. The threat is national,’ Frydenberg wrote.
‘You yourself (Albanese) have said that this terrorist attack was inspired by the Islamic State. You cannot legitimately conclude that this is a matter to be covered by a state based Royal Commission.
‘Anti-Jew intimidation, harassment and violence has metastasised in our country and must not be allowed to go one day longer.
‘The tsunami of hate is not just an attack on Jewish Australians, it’s a threat to every Australian. Prime Minister, enough is enough!’
In his announcement on Sunday, Albanese promised the review would examine if intelligence agencies needed more power to prevent terrorism.
‘The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will examine whether federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe in the wake of the horrific antisemitic Bondi Beach terrorist attack,’ he said.
Albanese (right) on Sunday announced intelligence authorities would conduct an internal review of their performance in the lead up to the terrorist attack
Frydenberg told Albanese of the review: ‘It’s weak, it’s wrong, it’s an abrogation of your first and fundamental duty to protect all Australian citizens’ (pictured, a woman visiting the memorial at Bondi Beach on Saturday)
‘The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation.
‘Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond.’
The intelligence review announcement was foreshadowed on Saturday when Albanese backed a ‘state-based royal commission’ after NSW Premier Chris Minns said the ‘powers of a wide-ranging inquiry were needed to determine what went wrong in the lead-up to the events of last Sunday’.
Federal MPs, including Sydney MP Allegra Spender, have led calls for a royal commission, but government ministers played down the need for such an investigation, saying it ‘would take too long and draw resources away from law enforcement’.
Spender, whose electorate of Wentworth takes in Bondi, said a federal investigation ‘should accept public submissions and be developed in consultation with the Jewish community’ but have ‘broad-ranging investigatory powers akin to a royal commission’.
Albanese’s announcement comes off the back of other federal government plans announced in the week since the attack.
The government responses include the biggest gun buyback since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, strict limits on how many guns a person can own and a plan to combat antisemitism.
