Jewish leader echoes Bondi families call for urgent federal royal commission

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Alex Ryvchin, the Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, says a royal commission is still what the community expects.

Transcript

00:00It's also much a question of momentum, it's the least that can be done to bring some semblance

00:08of justice and accountability for the horrors that transpired here.

00:12The families have spoken, very clearly the community has spoken, and the government's

00:15approach articulated today by the Prime Minister has been indicative of how they've handled

00:20this crisis for over two years now.

00:22They drag their feet, they don't listen to the experts and to the community, and then

00:27what they propose is an ineffective half-measure, and we're expected to be assured that the

00:31government knows best how to keep the community safe, when we've just seen that they clearly

00:35don't.

00:36So, this really is something that's insulting to the families and to the community.

00:40The families shouldn't have to be out there advocating for this.

00:43This is something that the government should be leading on, for the best interests of those

00:47affected and for wider society.

00:49We deserve answers.

00:51Only a Royal Commission has the coercive powers to get to the bottom of how this was allowed

00:55to happen and what needs to change in this country to prevent the next massacre.

00:59Yes, so just as you pointed to there, we heard from the Prime Minister again today, he is again

01:04resisting those calls for a National Royal Commission.

01:08He spoke of the Richardson Review of Intelligence and Law Enforcement, which we'll get to in just

01:12a moment.

01:13But the families say this won't capture what a Royal Commission would capture.

01:18What's specifically there?

01:19I know you pointed to that a moment ago.

01:24Well, again, we're talking about the highest methods of coercion of witnesses, of investigative

01:31powers to get to the bottom of this.

01:32We need to know how it was that two individuals who were living in our country were able to

01:37obtain weapons, train abroad, it's alleged, and carry out the most devastating massacre that

01:42our community has ever experienced in this country.

01:45So this requires a great deal of scrutiny of matters of migration and border security, the

01:51failings of intelligence agencies, what was missed, what gaps exist.

01:57We need to know how this was allowed to happen and what needs to be put in place to protect

02:01the community going forward.

02:03When you have a massacre of this scale, a catastrophe of this scale, and the effect of it will be

02:07felt for years and years to come in terms of the psychological toll, in terms of the way

02:11of life for the community, in terms of the cost of rebuilding lives.

02:15We need the highest form of inquiry available to us, and that's the Royal Commission.

02:19And frankly, the fact that this evening needs to be a point of discussion for days and days

02:22after the massacre, that we can't move forward to this point to actually getting the answers

02:26and getting some sort of justice that the families are demanding and deserve, I think it's shameful.

02:32These families are also mourning at this time, of course.

02:37How are they and the community doing at this time?

02:42They're struggling.

02:43They're struggling.

02:44And, you know, we had a great outpouring of public support.

02:48The community is rallying behind the families, but they're really suffering.

02:52And this loss is still something which they're trying to come to terms with.

02:55The barbaric way in which their loved ones were taken from them.

02:58There's still a number of people in the hospital who are in intensive care, some on life support

03:04from multiple gunshot wounds.

03:05And we're trying to, again, rally behind the families and support them in this most arduous

03:10of times.

03:11And then there's the unseen wounds that the people who were present on the day, the witnesses,

03:15the first responders, the community at large.

03:18I think the psychological toll of this will be felt for a long, long time to come.

03:22There's been an increased police presence in Sydney.

03:25How has the community been reacting to that?

03:28And does the Jewish community feel safer?

03:34Not particularly.

03:35When you have a wanton massacre of this scale, no one feels safe, no one feels secure.

03:40We're trying to go about our lives and return to the rhythms of Jewish life in this country,

03:46going to synagogue and things like that, and to look forward to the new year and the resumption

03:50of the school year, but it's very difficult.

03:53And when we had the vigil here last Sunday to have police snipers on roofs of surrounding

03:58buildings and a massive police presence in the air, at sea, on land, it shows the vulnerability

04:03of the community and just how widespread the failures have been to keep us safe and what

04:07has happened to this country.

04:09It's of a tragic proportion and we need to correct the course.

04:12But there's still great anxiety in the community that another attack is possible, that more

04:17people are plotting harm to our community and that furthers the need for a royal inquiry

04:22to get to the bottom of this and to give some sort of salvation and sense of security to the community.

04:28And Alex, the New South Wales Premier, Chris Means, says that he's not ruling anything out

04:32at this point to protect the Jewish community.

04:34What does the community want to see as a priority?

04:40Well, it's about the physical security of the community and I think the Premier's right

04:44to leave everything on the table.

04:46We need to ensure that Jewish Australians can resume their way of life in this country,

04:51can walk to and from synagogue in their homes without fear of abuse or worse,

04:56of being massacred as we were.

04:58We need to ensure that Jewish people can congregate, can be visibly Jewish in public,

05:03because the failure of that, the failure to protect the community,

05:06the failure to ensure that people can worship and display their faith without fear of being slaughtered

05:11is a failure of this country.

05:13It's a failure of Australian multiculturalism and the way of life and the values that we cherish.

05:17So whatever is needed to protect the Jewish community at this time needs to be looked at.

05:23Alex Rivchin, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council of Australian Jewry.

05:28Thank you for speaking with us.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended