Wong met with Segal on Tuesday evening, and told ABC Radio National on Wednesday morning that the government and community needed to act on antisemitism.
“We have taken many actions, including criminalising hate speech, but what I would say to you is that we all understand we need to do more. We dedicate every resource required to making sure Jewish Australians are safe and protected,” she said.
Special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, after handing her report on antisemitism to the federal government in July.Credit: Dylan Coker
The government has not provided a formal response to Segal’s report, which was delivered in July and offered 49 recommendations to tackle antisemitism. Wong said a formal response was a matter for the prime minister.
Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Tuesday, Albanese rebuffed claims his government had not acted on the report, saying the government was “busy implementing” its recommendations
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, shared a similar sentiment to Wong and Albanese, telling Seven’s Sunrise on Wednesday: “We need to do more, and we will do more. And that’s really clear. But as I said, this is not something which is solved overnight”.
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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley ramped up her attack on the government’s record on Tuesday evening, alongside Nationals leader David Littleproud, who said, “Labor has ignored the cues that have come from society”.
In a statement announcing a Coalition taskforce to combat antisemitism, Ley said the Bondi attack was a direct consequence of the government “failing to confront extremism early and decisively”.
“No Australian should feel unsafe practising their faith, sending their children to school or gathering as a community. Jewish Australians should never have to look over their shoulder in their own country. Restoring safety and confidence is non-negotiable,” Ley said in a statement.
The taskforce will include foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash, home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam, education spokesman Julian Leeser, along with Ley and three other frontbenchers.
One of Labor’s most prominent Jewish MPs, Josh Burns, said the government needed to ensure that Australians felt safe in their country.
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“Clearly, there are things that we need to learn from Sunday and to allow this investigation to go on more, more broadly across society. Where antisemitism pops up, it needs to be confronted, and it needs to be tackled head on,” Burns told Sky News on Tuesday evening.
Burns defended the government’s track record on migration, saying that the debate should not be lost to finger-pointing at immigrants.
“We are a country built on migration, and the Jewish community, for the most part, we’re either migrants or refugees, and my own family are included in that,” Burns said. “My grandmother came as a refugee to this country … many people across the country did exactly the same from all different communities.”
Funerals for victims of the shooting will be held on Wednesday. Ley will attend the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger. Albanese said he would attend events he was invited to.
More Bondi terror coverage
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