Third Labor MP breaks ranks to urge Albanese to call royal commission into Bondi attack | Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese faces growing pressure inside his own ranks to confirm a royal commission after the Bondi terror attack, with Labor senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah the latest government MP to break ranks and back a powerful inquiry into antisemitism.

Ananda-Rajah, a senator from Victoria, said a royal commission was needed to “flush out the failings” which have allowed antisemitism to fester in Australia. It comes amid growing expectations the Albanese government will relent on its previous position and convene a royal commission – potentially a joint inquiry with the New South Wales state government – as early as Thursday or Friday.

Guardian Australia understands Albanese has been in lengthy consultation with Jewish groups about the details of a federal inquiry. Sources in major Jewish organisations, who requested anonymity, confirmed they had been in talks about next steps and expected news in coming days. The terms of reference are still being debated.

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Some sources expected the government could confirm multiple parts of its response to the Bondi attack alongside a royal commission announcement, including details of its hate speech law changes and parliament’s early return. It’s understood the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and other Jewish groups have been consulted on the hate speech changes.

The prime minister’s office declined to comment.

Ananda-Rajah was formerly the Member for Higgins, in urban Melbourne, before moving to the Senate. She “wholeheartedly” supported calling a royal commission, becoming just the third Labor MP to publicly back such an inquiry, after earlier support from backbenchers Ed Husic and Mike Freelander.

“A royal commission will enable us to flush out the failings that led to this permissive environment for antisemitism, do it in full public view to rebuild trust and afford the Jewish community testimonial justice or they risk feeling permanently marginalised in their own country,” Ananda-Rajah said.

“I hope that a royal commission focuses not only on how we outlaw the bad stuff but on how we strengthen the bonds between us and between disparate communities – the social engineering measures matter as much as the criminal justice ones.”

No decisions have been finalised, but the government has floated former high court justice Virginia Bell as a potential commissioner on the federal inquiry. An esteemed lawyer and judge, Bell was appointed as counsel on NSW’s Wood royal commission into the police service in 1994, then in 1999 was appointed a judge on NSW’s supreme court and court of appeal. In 2009, she was appointed to the high court, where she sat until retiring in 2021. Bell was commissioned by Albanese’s Labor government in 2022 to investigate former prime minister Scott Morrison’s secret decisions to appoint himself to multiple ministerial portfolios without the knowledge of the ministers in those roles.

But reports in multiple media outlets claimed some Jewish groups had raised concerns about Bell’s political leanings, related to her investigation into Morrison’s multiple ministries scandal.

Government sources pushed back strongly on such criticisms, pointing to Bell’s extensive legal experience in the NSW and high courts, particularly in criminal law – a key factor, considering any further inquiry would be expected to operate alongside a criminal trial for alleged Bondi shooter Naveed Akram, who faces dozens of serious charges, including murder and terrorism.

Former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who is Jewish and has strongly criticised Labor’s response to the Bondi attack, claimed on social media that Jewish leaders “have serious concerns about [Bell’s] appointment” although he did not detail what those concerns were.

Frydenberg has been contacted for comment.

In his post on X, he claimed it would be “unthinkable the Prime Minister would choose a Commissioner that did not have the total confidence of the Jewish community”, and demanded Albanese appoint “the right Commissioner”, without suggesting an alternative.

The Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, declined to repeat or endorse Frydenberg’s claims, or comment directly on Bell when asked in a press conference on Thursday. But she called for three commissioners to be appointed to any inquiry, including someone with a senior judicial background, a national security expert, and someone with expertise in antisemitism.