00:00We heard from the Prime Minister a few hours ago now at a press conference.
00:05He started by saying that Australians stand with the Jewish community in Australia and
00:10that the terrorists would not be successful in their goal to defy the country.
00:13And he also encouraged anyone affected by the Bondi attack to consider accessing mental
00:17health support.
00:18But, of course, the PM was also asked about gun reform, and this comes after former Prime
00:23Minister John Howard, who visited the site in Bondi a few hours ago, said there was a
00:28risk that the current discussion around gun reform was an attempted diversion from tackling
00:34anti-Semitism itself.
00:37Mr Howard was also scathing of Anthony Albanese's leadership more broadly on the issue of anti-Semitism.
00:43He said this morning that the PM has failed to provide moral leadership on the issue.
00:47Not enough has been done by those who command authority and respect in our society.
00:57to prevent, cauterise and denounce the spread of anti-Semitism.
01:03I do not want this debate, post this horrible event, to be used, the focus on guns to be
01:14used as a pretext to avoid the broader debate about the spread of hatred of Jewish people.
01:20Now, the PM has denied this sentiment and also denied that he has failed to put the issue
01:27of anti-Semitism front and centre at the meeting of National Cabinet yesterday.
01:32He said his government is considering gun reform, including things like limiting the number of
01:37guns a person can own and accelerating the work of the Australian Firearms Register.
01:42But he said taking action on anti-Semitism was still front and centre and he defended the steps
01:48that his government has taken in the last few years.
01:50We have passed legislation to outlaw hate speech. The first government to do so,
01:59to put in place those laws as part of our response to anti-Semitism.
02:05He also referenced the government's anti-Semitism envoy Gillian Siegel's anti-Semitism report,
02:12which he says has been criticised, which, sorry, he has been criticised for failing to respond to
02:17in full, given that that report was released in July and we are well into December.
02:23He said the government has taken the report seriously. Of course, there are things in this report
02:28that have been controversial, including the suggestion of taking funding off universities
02:33that failed to combat anti-Semitism and monitoring media organisations. But months after this report's
02:39release, it's still unclear exactly what parts of the report the government will adopt, Joe.
02:45And the Prime Minister was asked if he'd consider supporting a royal commission. What was his response?
02:50Yeah, that's right. He essentially said today that it was too early to be making those kind of
02:54decisions. He didn't rule it out, but he said the federal government's immediate response is
02:59focused on the current investigation. And he indicated that the National Security Committee
03:03would meet again this afternoon. Now, of course, that's a meeting of senior cabinet ministers and
03:08they can make decisions independent of the rest of cabinet. And they are also briefed by high-ranking
03:14security agencies. We know New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has recalled the New South Wales
03:19Parliament. The federal parliament is not scheduled to return to Canberra until February,
03:23but the PM has indicated that he's open to taking any steps necessary after this terrible attack.
03:29And opposition leader Susan Lee has also indicated that she stands ready to support
03:33any of what she calls reasonable actions that are put forward by the government, Joe.
Comments