GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Our tolerant country is no more

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Original article by James Dowling
The Australian – Page: 6 : 6-May-26

The Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion has heard further evidence from Jewish Australians who have been targeted due to their religion. The second day of public hearings was told that Jewish Australians have had to endure verbal abuse and death threats in public places; in one instance a victim of anti-Semitism was told by NSW police that his complaint would not be investigated because it would be a "wasted effort". The Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s co-CEO Peter Wertheim said the far right had been largely responsible for anti-Semitism in past years; however, he noted that the far left and Islamist groups have become drivers of anti-Semitism since the anti-Israel movement started to gather pace in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION ON ANTISEMITISM AND SOCIAL COHESION, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN JEWRY

‘Incubated in hatred’: Warnings, risks laid bare as Bondi royal commission zeroes in on security flaws

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Original article by Alexandra Smith, Matthew Knott, Michael McGowan
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 1-May-26

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion’s interim report has made 14 recommendations in total, although five of them remain confidential. Amongst other things, royal commissioner Virginia Bell examined NSW Police’s response to a request from the volunteer Jewish-led Community Security Group in November 2025 for a police presence at the upcoming Hannukah celebrations at Bondi Beach. The CSG warned that a terrorist attack against the Jewish community was likely; police officers were instructed to send a "car crew or two" to Bondi on 14 December but were told that they did not need to stay for the whole event. NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stated that all recommendations in the interim report will be implemented in full.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION ON ANTISEMITISM AND SOCIAL COHESION, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Warning Bell: focus on antisemitism first

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Original article by James Dowling
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 25-Feb-26

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion held its first public hearing in Sydney yesterday. Royal commissioner Virginia Bell used her opening statement to disclose that the inquiry will not hear evidence from witnesses to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack or family members of victims; she contended that doing so could prejudice the criminal trial of the surviving gunman. Bell also emphasised that the inquiry will primarily focus on anti-Semitism, although she acknowledged that people of other faits and ethnic backgrounds are also subject to prejudice in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION ON ANTISEMITISM AND SOCIAL COHESION

Royal commission at risk over secrecy concerns

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 10-Feb-26

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland told Senate estimates on Monday that $131.1 million had been allocated to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. It comes as Rowland has agreed to meet with Teal independent Allegra Spender to discuss Spender’s concerns about current or former intelligence agents who may want to give evidence to the commission. Spender, whose seat of Wentworth takes in Bondi Beach, the site of the December massacre that saw 15 people killed, wants stronger protections for those agents, due to concerns that whistleblowers could face jail time for appearing before the commission

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION ON ANTISEMITISM AND SOCIAL COHESION

Take this expert advice, PM

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Original article by Greg Brown, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 7-Jan-26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese may yield to the growing pressure to hold a federal royal commission into the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. While Albanese has stated that Labor’s priorities are a review of the nation’s intelligence agencies and passing new hate speech and gun control laws, he has expressed willingness to "examine anything else required" in response to the terrorist attack. Sources have indicated that the government may formally announce a national public inquiry within days. Meanwhile, 32 intelligence and security experts have released a joint statement urging the government to hold a royal commission into both anti-Semitism and Islamist extremism.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Telcos accused of Triple-Zero death cover-up

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Nicola Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Dec-25

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has accused the nation’s telecommunications companies of a "cover-up" during the second hearing of an inquiry into Optus’s triple-zero outage, which has been linked to several deaths. She was responding to the revelation that a person had died after an outdated Samsung mobile phone was used to call triple-zero; the device defaulted to Vodafone’s decommissioned 3G network. This incident had been reported six days after the Optus outage on 24 September, but it was not publicly disclosed. Communications Minister Anika Wells was also criticised over her handling of the Optus outage; she had been in New York at the time, promoting the government’s social media age restrictions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

‘The enemy within’: Royal commission damns Defence for needless deaths

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Original article by Matthew Knott
The Age – Page: Online : 10-Sep-24

The royal commission into veterans’ suicide released its final report on Monday, making 122 recommendations. The commission found that current and former service personnel were 20 times more likely to die by suicide than in combat, with commissioner Peggy Brown saying it found that the "enemy is often within the Australian Defence Force" rather than an external adversary. The commission’s 122 recommendations include the creation of a national register of suicides among current and former ADF personnel, along with urgent action to stamp out bullying and sexual assault within the armed forces.

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‘Simply walking away’: Banks face branch closure crackdown as Senate probe exposes failures

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Original article by Matthew Elmas
The New Daily – Page: Online : 28-May-24

The Senate committee on regional affairs has released a report into bank closures in regional Australia, with the committee making a number of recommendations aimed at protecting regional communities from further branch closures. They include that access to cash should be considered an essential service and that the federal government should consider a new publicly owned bank that could service regional communities indefinitely, with Council of the Ageing chief executive Patricia Sparrow urging the government to "immediately action" the essential services call

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COUNCIL ON THE AGEING

Australia’s major supermarkets accused of purchasing properties to turf out independent stores

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 12-Apr-24

The Senate inquiry into supermarket prices has been told that grocery giants Coles and Woolworths engage in land-banking to prevent smaller rivals from opening a store near their supermarkets. Grant Ramage, the CEO of Metcash’s food division, said the duopoly is also prepared to pay inflated prices to buy out rivals in order to stifle competition, while they have been known to buy retail properties that are tenanted by independent supermarkets and subsequently not renew their lease. Aldi Australia’s CEO Anna McGrath has told the inquiry that rival supermarket chains often reduce their prices when the Germany-based company opens a new store near their existing outlets.

CORPORATES
METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Emerson to keep supermarkets in check

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 3 : 10-Jan-24

The federal government has appointed former Labor trade minister Craig Emerson to head a review of the food and grocery code of conduct. The government will consider a range of options to ensure that businesses are passing on lower costs to consumers, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says supermarkets have a duty to ensure that they are providing affordable options for all Australians. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says major retailers do not have to wait until the review is ­completed to lower their prices.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY