December 26, 2025 — 3:26pm
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Federal member for Perth Patrick Gorman has defended the Albanese Government’s decision to not immediately hold a royal commission into the Bondi terrorist attack.
Federal WA Labor MP Patrick Gorman.
Speaking in Perth on Boxing Day to highlight legislation introduced to protect penalty rates, the Perth MP was asked whether his government would consider holding a royal commission into the tragic events at Bondi.
“We have heard a range of views on this matter, and the position that the government has put forward is that we recognise that royal commissions can take many, many years,” he said.
“The work that we need to do in terms of both implementing the recommendations we have accepted from the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, to implement those recommendations, we need to make sure that we get that done now.
“I do not want a delay when it comes to the work that Dennis Richardson will do. I want to make sure our security agencies, right now, in the months ahead, are ready to do what we need from them as we have seen a significant change in circumstances here in Australia – that is the position we have taken.”
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Gorman, who is assistant minister to the Prime Minister, also showed his support for Albanese despite criticism of the government’s response to the Bondi attack.
“People can have their views. This is a time where there is great sorrow in the Australian community and we are experiencing something that Australia has not experienced before,” he said.
“We are a democracy where people can put their views. But when it comes to political leaders, and when it comes to political leaders in other parties, they need to remember they also have a job to do.
“That is a job to act in the national interest. Sometimes, when you walk into that chamber in Parliament, you have to put the partisan divides at the door and act in the national interest. And that is what I am really hoping we see in 2026.”
Gorman also took time to thank retail workers and emergency services for their work over the holiday period.
“What we know over this very special time of Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Years is that millions of Australians still go to work,” he said.
“I think you only need to look at the heroic efforts of those firefighters fighting the fires in the Boddington region, who have saved lives and livelihoods.
“And then here in the Perth CBD, we have thousands and thousands of people out working – whether it be in emergency services, whether it be in hospitality or if it is in retail – where people are giving up their time with family and loved ones, so others can get out and get a bargain. What we know is that those people who work in retail rely on the sorts of additional penalty rates that they get on days like Boxing Day to pay their bills.”
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