Royal Commission Calls After Bondi Are Premature, Says Senior Barrister

In the weeks after the horrific Bondi mass shooting, the national focus has shifted from grief and shock to a heated debate over accountability — and whether Australia needs a royal commission.

Some critics have accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of failing to adequately listen to concerns within the Jewish community as fears about rising antisemitism grow. Others argue the tragedy is being politicised, with unproven claims amplified and attention diverted away from institutional failures and towards protest movements, migration — and the Prime Minister himself.

Robert Richter KC, one of Australia’s most senior criminal defence barristers, has chosen not to support calls for a royal commission. A Jewish man who was raised in Israel until the age of 13, Richter declined to sign a widely circulated open letter urging an inquiry.

He joined Tina Quinn on 2SER Breakfast to explain why.