'The prime minister has unity': Opposition leader repeats royal commission call amid business group support
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More news: Opposition leader Sussan Ley has told reporters there is clearly unity behind calls for a royal commission, following support from prominent business groups and executives on Friday.
Ley said she had been briefed on Thursday by senior representatives from Australia’s security agencies and “nothing in those briefings substantiated the Prime Minister’s claim that they are advising against holding a Commonwealth royal commission”.
“The prime minister has got unity. Unity from every sector of Australian society pleading for this Commonwealth royal commission,” she said at a press conference in Albury on Friday.
Referencing the open letter from about 130 prominent Australians, including executives, billionaires and former Reserve Bank governors, and the joint business group statements, she said there had been “eloquent an powerful language” calling for a royal commission.
She said the calls cross “all sectors of society and it crosses through every area where ordinary Australians have made their voices clear”.
“Most importantly it is above politics because people who may identify with different sides of politics in the past, in the present have come together," she said.
The open letter's signatories included some influential Australians with Labor ties, including former Victorian deputy premier James Merlino and Australia's special envoy to Southeast Asia Nicholas Moore.
Business lobby groups join forces to call for royal commission into Bondi attacks
The news: The nation's nine biggest business lobby groups have backed a royal commission into the 14 December Bondi attacks and antisemitism, putting pressure on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who has rebuffed the opposition's push for the formal inquiry.
The context: The Australian Banking Association, Australian Institute of Company Directors, Australian Industry Group, Australian Retailers Association, Business Council of Australia, Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Insurance Council of Australia, Master Builders Australia and Minerals Council of Australia jointly issued a statement on Friday morning backing a federal royal commission.
The statement says a federal approach would "avoid some of the limitations of a state-based approach and help ensure we bring a whole-of-nation focus to tackling antisemitism".
Albanese has pushed back on calls, noting he has already requested an inquiry led by Dennis Richardson, which he said would be quicker. The joint statement says the royal commission could incorporate and build on these findings.
The move follows a similar open letter published on Friday morning from about 130 high-profile executives and representatives of corporate Australia, including James Packer and ex-RBA governors Glenn Stevens and Philip Lowe.
What they said: "Workplaces are perhaps the greatest melting pots we have as a country, where people from truly diverse backgrounds come together to work for their common success. Our workplaces are therefore deeply representative of the communities found across our nation, and it follows that we must strive for them to be inclusive," the joint statement says.
"Without sustainably safe and cohesive workplaces and communities, we cannot deliver prosperity for all Australians, which is the ultimate objective underpinning the advocacy and efforts of our organisations," it says.
"A federal Royal Commission can help us learn and understand what happened, what needs to be done differently and bring us together in the shared goal of preventing future tragedy.
"Australia is not alone in having faced growth in antisemitism. Ultimately, we hope a federal Royal Commission would send a signal to the world that Australia is committed to providing safe and inclusive communities, and intends to lead in overcoming antisemitism. In turn, this signal would help ensure Australia remains a beacon for capital and talent from around the globe, and the best country in which to live, work and raise a family."
The source: Joint business group statement
