View from The Hill: regardless of whether massacre was preventable, Albanese has been found wanting in meeting antisemitism crisis

Anthony Albanese cut a lonely political figure laying a small bunch of flowers at Bondi on Monday morning, as the question confronted the nation: could more have been done by leaders, and the community, to prevent this tragedy?

Opinions will differ, and what we learn about the perpetrators will affect judgements. Despite this being an act of terrorism, on the evidence so far the father and son were not formally linked to a terrorist group.

But without doubt, the massacre is the horrific culmination of the antisemitism epidemic that has spread like a wildfire in Australia.

Most of us did not recognise the fact, but this anti-Jewish sentiment must have been embedded in sections of the Australian community – the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 was the spark that lit a conflagration.

The diversity among the people who’ve died can be seen in itself a sort of dreadful parable. They range from a ten-year-old child, Matilda, to an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.

Many Australians will be asking, how did things come to this? Not least because it is not just this one almost-unthinkable atrocity. There have been so many earlier incidents, ranging from ugly graffiti to major arson attacks, including the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne. Australia saw more than 1,650 incidents in the year to September.

The prime minister and his government are experiencing a strong backlash, at home and from Israel, for what critics see as their inadequate approach in combating the crisis that has broken out over these past two years.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed on Albanese, saying of the prime minister, “you replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement. Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia.”

Local Jewish leaders are harking back to earlier warnings that enough was not being done to protect their community.

Albanese has spoken the right words; the federal government has strengthened laws; an antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, was appointed. Segal produced a report months ago, but the government has not yet formally responded (although Albanese on Monday listed measures taken on various issues). Some of the Segal recommendations were very contested and the government didn’t seem to know what to do about them.

Over these years the government has conspicuously juggled the conflicting pulls and concerns of a multicultural community. It’s been very aware of Islamophobia, and mindful of the Muslim voters in Western Sydney. Its critics say this meant it did not put enough emphasis on the fears of, and threats to, the Jewish community.

For all the government’s rhetoric on antisemitism, something has often seemed missing. It has appeared behind where it needed to be. Albanese’s leadership has not been regarded as decisive and compelling as that of New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. Minns has certainly received more praise than Albanese for moral leadership on antisemitism. But none of that prevented this attack at an iconic site in Minns’ state.

The Albanese government’s controversial recognition of a state of Palestine and its forthright criticisms of Israel are viewed by many as reasonable foreign policy responses to the Middle East war; others believe they have stoked antisemitism locally. The failure by Foreign Minister Penny Wong to visit the sites of the 2023 atrocities when she went to Israel early last year was much criticised in the Jewish community.

So have been the pro-Palestine marches – starting with that big ugly display outside the Sydney Opera House in October 2023 that was badly handled. The marches in themselves have raised conflicting issues – the right to demonstrate versus the fuelling of community discord. The university encampments were another matter. Their presence on campuses was intimidating for Jewish students and staff.

The Bondi attack will put serious extra pressures on our fracturing social harmony, bringing new challenges for federal and state governments and community organisations.

It will make life more difficult for the Muslim community. Minns warned there would be no tolerance for any kind of retribution.

Bondi will bring a big shake up of our gun laws. National cabinet on Monday discussed their strengthening and commissioned extensive work. The present framework dates from the Howard government, set after the Port Arthur massacre. One of the gunmen at Bondi had a gun licence and half a dozen guns.

The massacre will feed into the political debate, including that about immigration and Australian values, especially given the opposition is about to release its immigration policy. The older perpetrator came to Australia in the 1990s (from Pakistan, according to some reports).

ASIO’s chief Mike Burgess has repeatedly warned about the prospect of a terror attack, and especially the threat posed by lone wolves. ASIO has thwarted many threats, and the younger man was on its radar in 2019 because of his associates. ASIO did not see him as a current threat; the organisation will come under scrutiny in the inquiries that are conducted.

Albanese says, “We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism”. That, of course, is overblown rhetoric. This scourge is not going to be dealt with, let alone eradicated, quickly, by any single measure, or sets of measures. It will need concerted and prolonged effort from both governments and civil society to at least bring it under control. Assuming it can be.