Press conference - Parliament House, Canberra

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. Eight days ago, terrorists sought to divide our nation. They went to Bondi Beach to unleash mass murder against members of our Jewish community and to unleash the forces of hatred and antisemitism in our society.

Last night, the Jewish community returned to Bondi, along with many thousands of other Australians, to show that unity will triumph over division. Love will triumph over hatred. And, importantly, light will triumph over darkness. And that was the theme of the vigil - Light over Darkness.

Emotions were raw and a lot of people in the community are hurting and angry, And some of that anger was directed towards me, and I understand that. As Prime Minister, I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I'm Prime Minister. And I'm sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced.

The Government will work every day to protect Jewish Australians. To protect the fundamental right, as Australians that they have to be proud of who they are, to practice their faith, to educate their children, and to engage in Australian society in the fullest way possible. We're not going to let the ISIS-inspired terrorists win. We won't let them divide our society, and we'll get through this together.

Today, my Cabinet has met for the second time since this incident. As well, the National Security Committee met for the ninth time since this antisemitic terror attack. We went through the legislation and the legacy of measures that the Government is considering and that we will now further consult with the community on to make sure that there's as broad an agreement as possible. We'll also, after that process, be consulting across the Parliament as well to make sure that this is indeed a time where we have what is needed, which is urgency and unity, not division and delay. Urgency and unity is what we need.

A summary of the legislative measures that will be considered are, creating an aggravated offence for hate preaching advocating violence against protected groups; increasing penalties for existing offences for hate speech, advocating violence or property destruction against protected groups; making hate motivation a factor in sentencing for Commonwealth crimes, with options to limit this to online threats and harassment crimes as announced to expand to all Commonwealth crimes if required. We want to list prohibited hate organisations to make it a criminal offence to join, recruit or support an organisation listed by the Home Affairs Minister and the Attorney-General. Racial vilification and promoting racial supremacy offence, so we're considering drafting options there. We want the power to cancel visas where the Home Affairs Minister suspects a person has engaged in vilification, hate speech promoting violence, displaying hate symbols, or associating with a terrorist organisation or prohibited hate group. We're looking at changes to hate symbols offences as well, and also looking at changes to the Customs Act to ban importing extremist material or hate symbols.

In addition to that, we had a discussion about gun laws and today the state and territory senior officials group is meeting. We want to work through, with state and territory governments - I know that New South Wales is considering legislation this week. But we want to work through right across the board those changes or proposed changes. I'll ask the Attorney-General and then the Minister for Home Affairs to make some comments, and then happy to take questions.

MICHELLE ROWLAND, ATTORNEY-GENERAL: Thank you, Prime Minister. Firstly, can I start by expressing my condolences to the victims, the families and the friends and certainly all Australians who have been impacted by this heartbreaking, horrific act of terrorism against Australia's Jewish community. What occurred at Bondi just over a week ago was an act of pure evil. It was a targeted, antisemitic terrorist attack on the first day of Chanukah, which should be a joyous celebration of faith. And it was a vicious attack on all Australians and on our Australian way of life. There is no place for hate, violence and terrorism in Australia.

For too long there have been extremists who've operated just within the law, crafting rhetoric and participating in actions specifically designed to operate below the existing criminal threshold and displaying hate symbols under the guise of ignorance. This is changing. It needs to change urgently and it needs to change with unity.

As the Prime Minister said, Cabinet today agreed to progress a legislative package that I will lead along with Minister Burke, designed to further combat abhorrent hate speech and its consequences. The package will crack down on those who spread hate, division and radicalisation in our community, and build upon the Government's existing hate speech laws. The legislative package will include the measures outlined by the Prime Minister last week, which we have developed further, including an aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders who promote or threaten violence against protected groups or members of groups; increased penalties for hate speech offences relating to advocating or threatening force or violence against protected groups or members of groups and their property; making hate an aggravating factor in sentencing in terms of a number of Commonwealth crimes. There will also be a new series vilification offence that criminalises inciting hatred and we will be consulting closely with the Jewish community and others on the structuring of this offence.

In addition to the measures that I have outlined, we will introduce a new aggravated offence targeting adults who seek to influence and radicalise children. Anyone advocating to children violence against protected groups or their property will face tougher penalties. This change is critical. Since 2001, 120 people have been convicted of terrorism offences and 10 were children. However, today, 17 of the 33 people before our courts are minors. This unprecedented radicalisation of our youth must stop. We will not allow extremists to groom and brainwash our children into hate or terrorism. Now, these laws are complex and they must withstand scrutiny. The new bill will be drafted over the coming weeks for introduction in the New Year. We have begun consulting with the Jewish community and will continue to engage them.

Importantly, this is not a time for partisanship. Broad support is essential for these critical new offences and strengthened provisions that this will deliver. And I look forward to working with the Prime Minister, Minister Burke and all of my parliamentary colleagues on making this a reality.

TONY BURKE, MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: Thank you, Prime Minister. All Australians stand together, horrified and disgusted by the terrorist actions and crimes that occurred just over a week ago. Every Australian is affected, but no Australians more deeply than the Jewish community of Australia and those who were directly and personally impacted at Bondi. The crime and the bigotry behind the crime was rooted deeply in antisemitism. The method that was used was made available because someone in suburban Sydney with no possible practical need had six high powered firearms. We need to be able to deal with the motivation and the method. And today, there are a number of areas that have been announced by the Prime Minister that fall directly to me.

On the issue of the power to cancel visas. At the moment, when I'm cancelling visas and refusing visas and I've been doing this actively since I came in, I always have to work it out from the perspective of, does it incite discord in the community? Establishing that somebody has engaged in hate and vilification on its own is not enough. Now it will be. Somebody who engages and has a history of engaging in hate speech, in vilification, in displaying hate symbols will of itself be enough to be able to cancel a visa. The hate symbols offences that were put through in the previous Parliament when the Government was acting on hate symbols, on hate crimes and on hate speech have not resulted in the number of charges that we had hoped. I've raised this some weeks ago with Commissioner Barrett and the Australian Federal Police came back to me with recommendations that I then forwarded some weeks ago, only a couple of weeks ago, to the Attorney-General. Effectively, we will be making it easier for the Australian Federal Police to successfully bring charges against those who use and display hate symbols. We'll also be making changes to the Customs Act so that as well as it being unlawful for them to be held in Australia, it is easier for them to be intercepted at the border if they're seen there.

And finally, on listing prohibited hate organisations, I've spoken before about my disgust for a very long time at organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Nationalist Socialist Network, otherwise known as the Neo-Nazis. These organisations for a long time have been able to take hate right to the threshold without using the words violence and escape any further terrorist listing. We will be establishing a new form of listing for those who do not meet the terrorist organisations - of being able to prescribe organisations. I'm asking my department, as the drafting is done, to check it against previous behaviour of Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network. Their behaviour needs to be unacceptable, their behaviour needs to be unlawful, their behaviour needs to be enough that we can prescribe the organisation and prohibit their activity in Australia.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister can I ask for your explanation on why you haven't committed to a National Royal Commission? Is it to do with timing? That sometimes they take years? It could be close to the next election? Do you want something sooner? What's the reason not to?

PRIME MINISTER: We want urgency and unity, not division and delay. We have commenced already the Richardson Review. Dennis Richardson met today with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. We want to make sure that Mr. Richardson - who I don't think anyone can argue that there is anyone in this nation who is more qualified to oversee a review of our national security agencies and network and interrelationship between Commonwealth and State Government than Dennis Richardson. We wanted him as well to have input into his terms of reference and that is why that work began today. The New South Wales Government have announced a Royal Commission and the Federal Government will cooperate fully with that.

JOURNALIST: But Prime Minister, people like the former Chief Justice, Jewish community leaders, the Opposition, civil society leaders, say the National Royal Commission would give extra weight, especially considering this is the biggest loss of life in Australia, the worst terrorist attack in decades. Why are they wrong?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, because the Richardson Review will enable action to take place. It will report, as I have said, before April. That review can feed into any Royal Commission that is established in New South Wales that the Federal Government will cooperate with. If you have a look at the terms of reference that were released by the Federal Opposition today, if anyone suggests that it is possible that that will report any time this term, let alone years and years to come. Every Royal Commission has asked for an extension of time. What we want to do is if there are any holes, any findings, any actions that are required, we want that to occur.

JOURNALIST: Just picking up on that point, Prime Minister, not to take away from the probe into the security agencies, but there are calls from the community that there are other issues at play here. Factors like antisemitism. What's your opposition to perhaps doing both, having that short sharp review to get those answers on an operational level and then a longer term review to look at these broader issues?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, if you have a look at the broader issues that are proposed by the Opposition, they are into education, the arts, culture, migration, the full suite of employment, into the university sector, into home affairs, into the relationship between the Commonwealth and States and the nature of our Federation. I mean, there are, it goes A to Y in the subsets, and then within that there are, in some cases, half a dozen subsets within it. It is a referendum into the entire way of, not a referendum, a review or a Royal Commission into the whole functioning of Australia. What we need to do, what we need to do is to work immediately. That is what the Richardson Review will do. And in addition to that, it will feed into the inquiry which has been announced in New South Wales. I had a discussion this morning with Premier Minns. They haven't finalised, of course, their terms of reference, and we'll continue to have those discussions, but we'll cooperate with that Royal Commission. The idea that we would have multiple Royal Commissions, as well as a review running at the same time is going to simply delay action. What we've been determined to do and what the Cabinet has been doing today, we heard the head of, Director-General of ASIO, as well as the AFP Commissioner, both report extensively on the investigations that are taking place, on what lessons have been learnt, and where that is going to. The Richardson Review will do that and will feed into the New South Wales Royal Commission.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've said that you're sorry for the Jewish community's experience. The Foreign Minister today also said she was sorry for how people experienced her actions when it came to her visit to Israel. I have no doubt that you're sorry for their experiences, but are you sorry for the mistakes your government has made in handling the antisemitism crisis?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, we take responsibility for everything that occurs on our watch. We have taken a range of actions. We are taking further actions, some of which we've announced today.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, obviously, a significant selection of legislation approved by Cabinet today. Can MPs expect to be back here sometime in January to make that law, or will they have to wait till February?

PRIME MINISTER: We'll get the laws drafted as soon as possible, but we'll also make sure that we consult with the community firstly. And that is what these Ministers are doing.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've called for urgency and unity. Are you confident that there's sufficient bipartisan support for both your firearms reforms and the legislative changes that you're announcing today? And what's your message to your political opponents?

PRIME MINISTER: My message is that this is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for national unity. This is a time for the country to come together. That's what happens. That's what happens. After the Port Arthur massacre that is what occurred. During COVID myself as Leader of the Opposition, offered support. Even where we had amendments, we said, 'we won't allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. We will support what is required.' This is a national interest test and I think people will make their own judgement about whether partisanship is being evident at the moment.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, there's been members of your own caucus who have said a National Royal Commission is needed, that a New South Wales one just won't go far enough. Are they wrong if that's not your view?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, a Royal Commission can give consideration to whatever the terms of reference are and the Commonwealth will cooperate with that Royal Commission.

JOURNALIST: PM, you touched upon gun reform in your opening preamble. Just wondering what you mean by that. And are you concerned about the split that's occurred in the New South Wales Coalition over gun reform there as a precursor to what may occur nationally?

PRIME MINISTER: There was support for, to go back to Port Arthur and I was in this place. One of the things that happened there was that not just John Howard took action as Prime Minister and he deserves credit for that. So, too does Tim Fisher, who was at the time the Leader of the National Party. But so too does Kim Beazley, who offered that bipartisan support. The Parliament came together. That's what Australians wanted to see then and it's what Australians want to see now.

JOURNALIST: PM, to go to that question of bipartisanship, the Coalition, some of the Coalition have suggested that the Bondi terror attack was linked in some way to your government's recognition of a State of Palestine, of Penny Wong's decision not to visit some of the sites of the Hamas massacre on October 7th. What's your response to those sort of claims?

PRIME MINISTER: I have tried, as you will have seen, and some have been critical of me avoiding partisan comments this week. I'll continue to do so. But it is very clear from the evidence which has been got, more of which is now into the public arena due to the police statement relating to the charges, that this was an ISIS-inspired attack, that we know that ISIS is an ideology, a perversion of Islam that essentially doesn't agree with any recognition of nation states, seeks a caliphate. It is an extremist ideology that seeks a caliphate as its objective. Now, there is evidence that will continue to be produced, some of which of course is not yet public. And I don't want to interfere with those investigations. But it is very clear that this is antisemitic. It's clear that it is an extremist position of a perversion of Islam which shows its position through support for ISIS. These people weren't shy about their motivation, and it is there for people to see. And I think that people should look at those facts which are there.

JOURNALIST: A Royal Commission would involve public hearings and won't be run out of your department. Are you running from scrutiny by not holding one?

PRIME MINISTER: No. Thank you.