Senator Michaelia Cash
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
Youth Jam Radio Perth
7 January 2026
Topics: Bondi terror attack, Royal Commission, weak Prime Minister
E&OE
Isaac Mulcrone
Time now to chat to Senator Michaelia Cash – WA liberal, Senator. Senator, Happy New Year.
Senator Cash
Good afternoon to you.
Isaac Mulcrone
Thanks for your time. Across the country. There’s calls for a national Royal Commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack. It’s growing by the day. We know the Jewish community wants one, families of the victims of the attack want one, and so does the Coalition, just to name a few. Tell us why it’s important to the Coalition that a national Royal Commission is established.
Senator Cash
Well, in the first instance, I think my thoughts, like I think all across Australia is still with the victims, the families, the Jewish community and the first responders. What happened at Bondi was horrific. It has shaken our country, and it is testing us as a nation. Isaac, Bondi is a day that will forever be burned into our nation’s souls. And I think Australians are asking just a very simple question: why is the Prime Minister too weak to establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission to get the full truth and fix what’s broken? I mean, what has the Prime Minister got to hide? This is now a national call. It’s from across Australia. Australians across the country, as you rightly said, have demanded, but continue to demand, a Commonwealth Royal Commission. Victims, families, community leaders, prominent Australians from all walks of life have all pressed for a full, independent process that will uncover the truth and drive reform.
Isaac Mulcrone
The Prime Minister, though, argues a Royal Commission would take too long, meaning any change would be quite far down the track. I guess there is history to that with the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse taking five years. But do you think that’s a fair argument from the PM? Do you think we can wait for action on this?
Senator Cash
Absolutely not. And that is why we have consistently said, as the Coalition, that he needs to recall the Parliament as soon as possible to actually take action, to actually address this. We need Isaac, urgent legislation to combat antisemitism and strengthen counter terrorism laws. Let’s be honest. Mr. Albanese is now being shown up for being the weak leader that he is. A strong Prime Minister doesn’t manage a crisis with a departmental review. He confronts it head on. A strong Prime Minister doesn’t mark his own homework, you know, by choosing his own department, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, to review what is what has occurred? A Prime Minister that is strong opens the books. You know, a strong Prime Minister doesn’t offer Australians an internal process when the country needs to get to the bottom of this. I mean, ultimately, speed and strength Isaac aren’t mutually exclusive. A Royal Commission can be structured with interim reporting, urgent recommendations without sacrificing independence. The horror at Bondi was not an isolated Act. The Prime Minister likes to pretend that it was, but Australians know, they know that this was the catastrophic consequence of a national failure to confront what we have all been witnessing now since October the seventh, 2023 rising antisemitism, violent extremism. But not only that, repeated warnings to this government, and they turned the other way. So Australians deserve the truth about how this was allowed to happen, and they deserve accountability at the highest levels of government, you have to investigate the national failure with a national Royal Commission. This is all about truth, accountability and keeping Australians safe. If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, he’d call a Royal Commission tomorrow.
Isaac Mulcrone
Anthony Albanese says the Richardson review will address any potential failings within security agencies leading up to the massacre. But, I mean, I think you might be missing the point. Isn’t this about something so much deeper, as you’ve just pointed out, isn’t it about figuring out why antisemitism in this country is festering and how it got to a point where Bondi was able to happen, isn’t that what we need to find out?
Senator Cash
Correct. So what the Prime Minister has chosen is a review commissioned through his own department, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. This is not a Royal Commission. It’s a process that government controls. It’s not independent in terms of what a Royal Commission is, and worse than that, it does not carry the same independence, the same breadth or public confidence as a Royal Commission does. I mean a Royal Commission has the standing and coercive powers to compel evidence across the system and test it properly a review commissioned through the Prime Minister’s own department and controlled by government. That’s the Prime Minister’s response. So what we’re saying is this, the Royal Commission has got to examine Isaac, as you said, threats leading up, and the warning signs, what was known when it was known, how it was assessed, what decisions were taken or were still not taken. Information sharing and coordination. You know, where the barriers between jurisdictions or agencies prevented timely disruption and prevention, given that this happened at such a significant public event, we needed to have a look at protection of public events. You know, vulnerable communities, risk, settings, resourcing, approvals, operation, operational coordination. But also, and this is the key radicalization and incitement pathways, including online. How hate and extremist propaganda move from words to violence, and whether our laws and our enforcement have actually kept pace with that. But also the after action response, what’s worked, what’s failed and what must change to support victims, but more importantly, to prevent this ever happening again.
Isaac Mulcrone
Some would argue that the New South Wales Royal Commission, the state based Royal Commission will do the job and will find out the failings of government. And the Prime Minister has said that he will cooperate with Bolton. He’ll put up people who have to speak and things like that. But why do you believe the state Royal Commission won’t go far enough and won’t address, I guess, cultural and systemic issues at a federal level.
Senator Cash
Yeah, and that’s just a cop out by a weak Prime Minister who is refusing to take action to keep Australians safe, as a Prime Minister should be doing. A state based inquiry, while appropriate, within its limits, don’t get me wrong, absolutely appropriate. cannot fully examine Commonwealth responsibilities. What we’re talking about here, National Security architecture, migration, visa settings, intelligence, coordination or the actions and inaction of federal institutions. You cannot investigate a national failure with a state sized response limited to one state when we know that antisemitism has risen across Australia. Again, it is a cop out by a weak Prime Minister. A state inquiry can do valuable work, yes, but it cannot fully examine Commonwealth responsibilities and national security coordination. It’s as simple as that.
Isaac Mulcrone
I do want to bring your attention to some news from overnight, an AFP national surveillance team set up under the Commonwealth high risk terrorist offender regime was quietly disbanded just weeks before Bondi, and that was due to funding, or, I should say, lack of it. What’s your response to that?
Senator Cash
Deeply concerning, and Australians deserve to know when did the Prime Minister know about this? Who authorized this? And upon what basis? I mean, this basically says a lot about Labor’s priorities. The reports are, quite frankly, astounding, and if true, that an AFP national surveillance team was wound up because of funding pressures, seriously, national security, quite frankly, that is the number one responsibility of government. And to hear that an AFP national surveillance team was wound up because of funding pressures is quite frankly, incomprehensible. Australians deserve straight answers. We need to know as I said, when did the Prime Minister become aware of this? Which Minister authorized this? Why did they authorize it? When did they authorize it? What did these security agencies actually say? What capability was lost, who signed off on it, what warnings were given, etc, whether it affected the ability to monitor high risk threats. Remember, we’ve also heard Isaac public warnings from the AFP Association about shortages in specialist counter terrorism cohorts. And again, that is exactly why we need a Commonwealth Royal Commission to put every decision on the table and ensure the system is properly resourced and fit for purpose.
Isaac Mulcrone
Senator Michaelia Cash, I think we have so many calling for it, the Prime Minister most certainly should read the room and and call this Royal Commission. Thank you for your time.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you.
Recent Comments