A former Christchurch councillor who worked with victims during the New Zealand royal commission into the mass shootings that targeted the city’s Muslim community said he is surprised the Australian government has not called a federal commission into the Bondi attack, which he said was “absolutely critical” to stamp out antisemitism in Australia.
He rejected the arguments made by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke at a press conference on Monday that a federal royal commission would damage social unity and be too slow to report.
Former councillor Raf Manji following the Christchurch attacks in 2019. Credit: Braden Fastier
“I’ve been listening to a little bit of the conversation around a proposed royal commission, which I would completely support. I’m kind of surprised the government hasn’t moved to that,” former councillor Raf Manji said on Tuesday morning.
“Public reassurance, after an event like this, is absolutely critical. And part of that is the ability for the affected community to have their say and be listened to; it’s absolutely critical. If you don’t do that, this will just continue for years and years,” Manji told ABC Radio National.
Manji was a Christchurch City councillor for the centrist Opportunities Party during the March 2019 mass shootings perpetrated by Australian man Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people and injured 89. The attacks directly targeted the Muslim community, taking place at a mosque and an Islamic centre, and were investigated by a royal commission, which delivered its findings in 2020.
“It was a very difficult process. People were in a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, a lot of anxiety, but the process is worth going through, and it is really important. And I think people do feel safer after just being able to express how they feel,” Manji said.
“We had the issue of Islamophobia here, obviously, in Australia, you have the issue of antisemitism. I’ve been watching that. There are a lot of similarities,” he said.
After the publication on Monday morning of an open letter signed by the families of 17 victims of the Bondi attack, urging a royal commission, Burke said the proposed inquiry would provide a platform for “some of the worst statements and worst voices” on antisemitism.
The government has instead offered a review into the workings of intelligence agencies and law enforcement, chaired by former department head and ambassador Dennis Richardson.
