Conclusion of the commission of inquiry formed after the Bondi beach attack
The commission of inquiry formed after the December attack on Sydney’s Bondi beach recommended that Australia review the functioning of counter-terrorism units and strengthen security during Jewish community events.
The recommendations are part of the conclusions presented in a preliminary report by retired judge Virginia Bell, who chairs the royal commission of inquiry into the attack that left 15 people dead during a gathering for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
The reformulation of counter-terrorism units “should affect command structures, team integration, access to systems, as well as information sharing modalities”, the document states.
The police should consider strengthening security measures during Jewish celebrations “with a public dimension”, it adds.
Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid Akram, killed by police during the attack, are accused of having fired for around ten minutes, on December 14, at a crowd gathered to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, causing 15 deaths.
Naveed Akram has been charged with terrorism and 15 counts of murder for the deadliest attack in Australia in the last three decades.
According to authorities, the attack was inspired by the ideology of the fundamentalist group Islamic State (IS), but the two men did not receive external help and were not part of terrorist organizations.
Naveed Akram had been the target of an investigation by the Australian secret services in 2019 due to links with the IS group.
The royal commission of inquiry into the Bondi attack, the highest-level public commission in Australia, was launched in January by the Government, in the face of criticism from the Jewish community.
The victims’ families wrote a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in December asking for answers and a federal investigation.
Faced with the shock caused by the worst massacre in Australia in more than 30 years, parliament in January tightened legislation relating to crimes motivated by hate and firearms.
The last federal royal commission dates from 2022 and was tasked with investigating a vast scandal of fraudulent debt collection requests.
Other commissions focused on dysfunctions, following cases of pedophilia or environmental protection.
