Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
12 MARCH 2026
ABC RN Breakfast
Topics: Dennis Richardson resigns from Bondi Royal Commission
E&OE
Sally Sara
The Shadow Attorney-General and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Michaelia Cash, has been listening in. Senator Cash, welcome back to Breakfast.
Senator Cash
It’s great to be with you, Sally.
Sally Sara
What do you make of Dennis Richardson’s decision to step aside from this role?
Speaker 1
Well, Sally, those comments were quite extraordinary. I mean, Dennis Richardson has said he was surplus to requirements. That is a devastating indictment of the Albanese government. But in particular, on the way this Royal Commission has been set up. It was the Prime Minister, as you know, who told Australians that Dennis Richardson was the best qualified person in our country to examine the intelligence and security failures surrounding the Bondi massacre. So how does someone that the Prime Minister himself said was indispensable suddenly become surplus to requirements? I think sadly and most alarmingly, this goes directly to the credibility of the inquiry. I think the government never wanted this Royal Commission. And if it had structured it so badly, it has structured it so badly that Dennis Richardson, in his own words, has now effectively said he’s been pushed aside. Then I call on the Prime Minister today, he has to intervene and immediately fix this.
Sally Sara
The Coalition advocated for the Royal Commission. Do you accept that this may have made it harder to probe intelligence agencies given the strict secrecy laws that apply to them?
Senator Cash
Well, that’s why we’ve worked with the government in particular to pass legislation through the Senate to today ensure that the Royal Commission does have access to all of the information that it needs from the security agencies. But ultimately today, this is about confidence in the inquiry. Australians were promised a full examination of what went wrong before the Bondi terrorist attack, and the Prime Minister today has got some very direct questions he needs to answer. What impact will Mr. Richardson’s departure have on the Royal Commission’s work? How will the intelligence and law enforcement dimensions of the attack now be examined? Who will ensure the commission has the national security expertise needed to do that work properly? This is just so important, but I think more importantly, Sally, how will the Prime Minister reassure Australians that the Royal Commission still has the independence, the expertise, and more particularly, the scope to get to the bottom of what happened.
Sally Sara
Would it be appropriate to delay the April interim report? Given this development?
Senator Cash
Well, I have to say we had always said that the timeline was something that was set politically by the government. What Australians want is a full and frank assessment of what occurred. Now, I think a lot of that assessment is going to come from whether or not there were failures by the intelligence agencies. And I think he needs to have serious discussions with Mr. Richardson himself, even though Mr. Richardson is no longer part of the Royal Commission as to whether or not the April 30 date is indeed appropriate, because I have had so much feedback from the Jewish community Sally that they are so worried that this Royal Commission is being rushed. It has been deliberately set up to not get to the bottom of what –
Sally Sara
But hang on. The Coalition was pushing for this Royal Commission and pushing for a tight timeframe to start investigations getting underway. Has that advocacy inadvertently created some of this situation?
Senator Cash
I disagree with you. Ultimately, the government set up this Royal Commission. In the first instance, their response was not to set up a Royal Commission. It was to set up the Richardson inquiry. They then were brought kicking and screaming to the table to respond to the overwhelming call across Australia for a Royal Commission into what led up to the slaughter of 15 people at Bondi Beach. It is for the government to now reassure Australians that we are still going to get to the bottom of what occurred. Dennis Richardson, Sally, was not a peripheral figure in this inquiry. He was central to it. He was brought in to specifically examine whether there were failures in intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism preparedness and the broader national security system before the Bondi effect. You and I have just both listened to what Dennis Richardson has said are the reasons for why he has now resigned. So if a person charged with examining those issues says he has been shut out, then you need to question whether the Royal Commission’s ability to investigate the intelligence and anti-terror dimensions of this tragedy have been seriously undermined, and these are the questions our Prime Minister must stand up front the Australian people look them in the eye and answer today.
Sally Sara
Senator, thank you for joining me this morning.
Senator Cash
It’s always great to be with you, Sally.
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