Albanese’s ‘leftist instincts’ blinded him to Bondi terror attack warning signs, former PM Tony Abbott says

Anthony Albanese’s “leftist instincts” blinded him from warning signs that a terror attack targeting Jews could happen in Australia, former prime minister Tony Abbott says. Mr Abbott is among prominent Coalition voices, both past and present, who have come out against the Prime Minister over his handling of rising anti-Semitism and the Bondi Beach massacre. In a blog post on Tuesday echoing criticisms levelled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Abbott declared: “It should not have taken the deaths of 15 innocent people for the Albanese government to crack down hard on the incitements to violence that have been rampant since the October 7 atrocity.” Anti-Semitism has surged in Australia since Hamas’ unprecedented October 7 assault on Israel in 2023, manifesting as attacks on Jewish sites and anti-Semitic slogans at pro-Palestine rallies in the country’s biggest cities. Mr Abbott said there were ample signals, pointing to comments from Australia’s domestic spy chief Mike Burgess warning that “normalisation of violent protest and intimidating behaviour lowered the threshold for provocative and potentially violent acts”. “Narratives originally centred on ‘freeing Palestine’ expanded to include incitements to ‘kill the Jews’,” Mr Burgess said in his annual threat assessment speech in February. “Threats transitioned from harassment and intimidation to specific targeting of Jewish communities, places of worship and prominent figures. “I am concerned these attacks have not yet plateaued.” Mr Abbott wrote he did not understand how Mr Albanese could say “he had never imagined Bondi Beach could be turned into a shooting gallery”. “Was his mind on something else when Burgess and others delivered their warnings?” Mr Abbott said. “Despite local hate preachers publicly exulting in the October 7 atrocity; despite the October 9 riot at the Opera House demanding ‘f. k the Jews’ and what sounded like ‘gas the Jews’; despite the Sydney Harbour Bridge marchers chanting ‘death to the IDF’ and ‘globalise the intifada’; and despite the vandalism against Jewish property and the firebombings of synagogues?” He went on to charge the “basic problem with the Albanese government is the leftist instincts that constantly distort its moral lens”. “Hence the government’s inability to have an envoy against anti-Semitism without also appointing one against an almost non-existent Islamophobia; the PM’s apparent greater comfort in Beijing than in Washington; and the government’s inability to open its mouth without acknowledging ‘country’, or the neurotic flying of three flags as some kind of atonement for the original settlement of Australia,” he said. “Maybe the Bondi massacre will turn out to have been a “road to Damascus” moment, with Anthony Albanese and his ministers henceforth ruthless and relentless in monitoring hate preachers and closing them down if they utter so much as a word from the Koran urging the killing of Jews; in comprehensively vetting visa applicants to ensure that their beliefs and their social media history really are consistent with the democratic instincts Australians should be able to rely on; and in forever putting behind them any ambivalence about our country and its symbols, such as the flag, Australia Day and Anzac Day.” Mr Albanese has announced a suite of proposed reforms in the wake of the attack on December 14. Among them are tighter gun, hate speech and immigration laws, including making it easier to cancel visas for anyone suspected of hate speech. He has also announced a departmental probe into intelligence and law enforcement agencies to ensure the necessary of flow of information. The probe, led by respected former public servant and intelligence chief Dennis Richardson, was ordered amid revelations one of the suspects had been looked into by intelligence services but fell off their radar despite frequenting an Islamic centre notorious for extremist preachings. Meanwhile, the other suspect legally owned six firearms – the firearms allegedly used to carry out the attack. The lengthy list of action items has done little to reassure Australia’s Jewish community and Mr Albanese’s resistance to a royal commission has only handed the Coalition fodder as it seeks to maximise the political damage. In a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Albanese said he regretted the “politicisation” of the attack. “I certainly do regret the politicisation of this issue,” he told reporters at Parliament House. “This is a time where the nation needs to come together in unity and with that sense of purpose. “This is not a time for people to look for political product differentiation for the sake of it, and I’ll continue to argue for unity. “I’ll continue to conduct myself in a way that’s consistent with that call for national unity, with being focused on making a difference, with providing support for the agencies who are conducting their investigations.” He added that he hoped “other people do that too”. “That is what happens at a time of national crisis and mourning – that is what national leaders do,” Mr Albanese said.