In Victoria, there were six emergency warnings<\/a> in place for out-of-control bushfires at Longwood and 25km west of Walwa, with dozens of regional townships urged to take cover or evacuate. The entire state of Victoria will be under a fire ban<\/a> tomorrow amid an ongoing heatwave.<\/p>\n A legal challenge<\/a> was lodged<\/a> against controversial laws in New South Wales that restrict protest actions for up to three months after terrorist incidents, introduced after the December Bondi attack.<\/p>\n And the Reserve Bank of Australia\u2019s deputy governor, Andrew Hauser, said the current cycle of <\/a>rate cuts<\/a> was likely over<\/a> and the central bank needed to ensure the recent period of high inflation does not repeat.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.47 EST<\/p>\n Six bushfire emergency warnings in northern Victoria<\/p>\n Still on the bushfires, there are now six emergency warnings to leave immediately or take shelter for the out-of-control bushfires at Longwood and 25km west of Walwa in northern Victoria.<\/p>\n More than two dozen townships have been urged to leave immediately as the Walwa fire travels south-east from Mount Lawson state park, including:<\/p>\n Beetoomba<\/p>\n Berringama<\/p>\n Bungil<\/p>\n Burrowye<\/p>\n Colac Colac<\/p>\n Corryong<\/p>\n Crawford Crossing<\/p>\n Cudgewa & Cudgewa North<\/p>\n Dartmouth<\/p>\n Guys Forest<\/p>\n Hodgson Crossing<\/p>\n Koetong<\/p>\n Lucyvale<\/p>\n McNamara Crossing<\/p>\n Mount Alfred & Mount Alfred Gap<\/p>\n Nariel Creek, Nariel Gap & Nariel Valley<\/p>\n Pine Mountain<\/p>\n Shelley<\/p>\n Staceys Bridge<\/p>\n The Lightwood<\/p>\n Thologolong<\/p>\n Thowgla Valley<\/p>\n Tintaldra<\/p>\n Walwa<\/p>\n Willow Crossing<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.41 EST<\/p>\n Paramedics to be relocated away from Victoria\u2019s high-risk bushfire areas<\/p>\n Paramedics in Victoria will be deployed away from high-risk bushfire areas tomorrow morning, as the state prepares for catastrophic fire conditions.<\/p>\n Ambulance Victoria says it has declared a red escalation \u2013 the highest level of response \u2013 from 7am tomorrow. It means crews are only deployed into high-risk areas for serious or life-threatening illnesses and when a risk assessment has been done.<\/p>\n In a statement, Ambulance Victoria said:<\/p>\n For their safety, paramedics and first responders are being relocated from branches within declared regions of catastrophic fire danger risk and where those branches have been identified as high-risk due to their proximity to bushland and limited road access.<\/p>\n Ambulance Victoria has not specified which stations paramedics will be relocated from.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.15 EST<\/p>\n NSW opposition welcomes \u2018long-overdue\u2019 federal royal commission<\/p>\n The New South Wales opposition similarly backed the prime minister\u2019s announcement, while calling it a \u201clong-overdue step\u201d.<\/p>\n Its acting leader, Natalie Ward, said the Coalition had \u201cconsistently advocated for a national response of this scale\u201d.<\/p>\n This outcome reflects the seriousness of the threat and the clear reality that these issues extend well beyond the borders of any one state. Antisemitism has been allowed to grow unchecked in New South Wales. Successive failures across governments to intervene early and strengthen existing laws have left communities exposed and undermined public confidence.<\/p>\n Ward said the federal royal commission was the \u201conly mechanism capable of examining the full picture \u2026 and delivering accountability and reform at a national level\u201d.<\/p>\n The NSW Opposition stands ready to work constructively with the NSW Government to ensure this process delivers real outcomes, restores confidence, and sends an unequivocal message that antisemitism and extremist violence have no place in our state or our country.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.04 EST<\/p>\n NSW will not proceed with its royal commission, given federal inquiry<\/p>\n The New South Wales government will not proceed with its royal commission into the Bondi attack, given Anthony Albanese\u2019s announcement there will be an inquiry at a federal level.<\/p>\n In a statement, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the state government welcomed Labor\u2019s decision to establish a royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion in response to the Bondi terrorist attack.<\/p>\n This was the worst terrorist attack our state has faced, and the community deserves clear answers about how it happened and how it can be prevented in the future.<\/p>\n NSW will fully cooperate with the Royal Commission and provide whatever assistance is required to support its work. Given the establishment of a national Royal Commission, the NSW Royal Commission will not proceed.<\/p>\n We will continue to work closely with the Jewish community on matters arising from the Bondi terrorist attack and remain open to further inquiries that focus on NSW Government responses.<\/p>\n Our priority remains unchanged: supporting victims and their families, keeping the community safe, and ensuring everything possible is done to prevent an attack like this from ever happening again.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.09 EST<\/p>\n Royal commission must avoid \u2018politicising\u2019 antisemitism, Jewish Council of Australia says<\/p>\n The Jewish Council of Australia has released a statement after Anthony Albanese announced a royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion following the Bondi terror attack.<\/p>\n Its founding executive officer, Sarah Schwartz, says the Bondi attack deserves \u201creal accountability\u201d:<\/p>\n This Royal Commission must focus on the failures that led to violence, and must steadfastly avoid politicising the issue of antisemitism to target migrants or silence dissent. That kind of politics makes Jewish people, and everyone else, less safe.<\/p>\n A credible inquiry must be independent, restrained and focused on the massacre itself, not turned into a platform to attack protest movements, universities, migrants or human rights institutions.<\/p>\n The council is a progressive Jewish organisation that describes itself as supporting Palestinian freedom.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.51 EST<\/p>\n Jewish community is feeling \u2018relieved\u2019 and \u2018listened to\u2019, ECAJ president says<\/p>\n Appearing on ABC News, Aghion says the Jewish community is feeling \u201crelieved\u201d and \u201clistened to\u201d.<\/p>\n I think the prime minister has listened very carefully to the Jewish community. I think he has taken soundings and I think at the end of the day, leadership is about accepting that, all right, we don\u2019t always get the decisions right at the right time, but the decision now has been made.<\/p>\n He also welcomes the terms of reference as they stand, while adding that the expectation is \u201cwhen you look at prevalence and nature of antisemitism and the circumstances leading up to Bondi \u2026 you must look at how we got to where we are\u201d.<\/p>\n On the appointment of Commissioner Bell, which was strongly critiqued by Josh Frydenberg, Aghion says the ECAJ fully endorses her leadership and will cooperate with her throughout the commission.<\/p>\n Commissioner Bell is a retired high court judge with excellent credentials \u2026 I think now is a moment of unity, the community now needs to get behind the prime minister\u2019s decision, and we\u2019ve all got to get on with the job of investigating this problem that \u2026 has gotten into the marrow of Australian society and how we get it out, how we get back to the unified and welcoming country for all, including and especially Australian Jews, that we all want this country to be.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.40 EST<\/p>\n Jewish peak body welcomes royal commission announcement<\/p>\n The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the peak body for the Australian Jewish community, has welcomed the announcement of a commonwealth royal commission, saying it is the \u201conly way\u201d Australia\u2019s standards of decency and fairness can be upheld.<\/p>\n The ECAJ president, Daniel Aghion, said the government had made the right decision in calling a commonwealth inquiry.<\/p>\n We are especially grateful to the eminent artists, lawyers, business leaders, sporting legends, political figures, women\u2019s organisations and other groups who added their powerful voices to this call.<\/p>\n We welcome the Prime Minister\u2019s announcement and expect that the terms of reference of the Royal Commission will allow an honest examination of government policies and the conduct and policies of key institutions and figures in major sectors of our society in contributing or failing to adequately respond to the unprecedented levels of antisemitism in Australia over the past two years or more.<\/p>\n Aghion said the ECAJ would cooperate fully with the commission to \u201censure that the full force of the community\u2019s views and experiences of antisemitism in various sectors of society are brought to the forefront of the inquiry\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.37 EST<\/p>\n \u2018The nation needs to come together,\u2019 PM says<\/p>\n Finally, Albanese is asked if he has \u201cany regrets\u201d about the way Labor \u201cpushed back\u201d against initial calls for a royal commission.<\/p>\n He once again says the government has engaged respectfully with people and made sure the process was done in a way which \u201chas got it right\u201d.<\/p>\n We listen to people. I think that\u2019s what people want \u2026 The nation needs to come together. When there has been a national crisis in the past, whether it be the Bali bombings \u2026 whether it be the attack that occurred on the Lindt cafe in Sydney, whether it be Port Arthur, there was no partisanship, no partisanship whatsoever. The country came together. They offered their unity in moving forward. That is what I have tried to do. I\u2019d ask others to conduct themselves in a similar manner \u2026<\/p>\n Social cohesion is about respect for all of us. That is what Australians want to see \u2026 the Australian covenant is that when people arrive in Australia they leave any hatreds or prejudices that they have in the customs hall. That\u2019s what I want to see. That\u2019s how we build a more united Australia. Thank you very much.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese speaks at Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.32 EST<\/p>\n Government has been preparing royal commission \u2018for weeks\u2019, PM says<\/p>\n Albanese says the federal government has been working on the logistics of a royal commission \u201cfor weeks\u201d and there is a working draft of the legislation ready for community members to look over.<\/p>\n We have worked very hard. This hasn\u2019t been done up this morning.<\/p>\n He\u2019s \u201chopeful\u201d parliament will be able to begin debating the legislation prior to 26 January.<\/p>\n You can read the terms of reference here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.51 EST<\/p>\n Albanese: \u2018I can be accused of many things. Raising the temperature is not one of them\u2019<\/p>\n Albanese continues on what led to his decision for a royal commission.<\/p>\n He says he has remained \u201cabsolutely determined that anything we did had to build social cohesion, not bring it apart\u201d.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want a royal commission into whether we provide a solution on Gaza or on the Middle East. That\u2019s not the role of a royal commission \u2026 Australians want two things when it comes to the Middle East. They want it to stop. They want peace, for Israelis and Palestinians. But the other thing that they want is for conflict to not be brought here.<\/p>\n As to whether taking four weeks to make the decision didn\u2019t help to \u201clower the temperature\u201d, he says:<\/p>\n In that 25 days we\u2019ve established the Richardson review and got it up and running. We have drafted legislation that we\u2019re sitting down with community members on today. We have increased funding for security agencies. We have had daily briefings of the National Security Committee. We have been undertaking those briefings and getting the reports of what has occurred, some of which has been reported publicly, some of which has not been, trying to get to the heart of what has occurred here.<\/p>\n I can be accused of many things. Raising the temperature is not one of them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.18 EST<\/p>\n Albanese says he listened to a \u2018range of voices\u2019 and views<\/p>\n Albanese is asked what the trigger was for him to change his mind on a royal commission, and what he would say to critics who suggest it\u2019s been done for \u201cpolitical reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n He says he\u2019s \u201cengaged constructively regardless of some of the things that have been said\u201d.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t engaged in politics. I have been focused on outcomes. That\u2019s the first point. The second is I\u2019ve listened and in a democracy that\u2019s a good thing, to listen to what people are saying and what people are saying is, yes, we\u2019re concerned about the events and the Richardson review will give consideration to those national security issues, whether there are any gaps or anything else. But we want an opportunity to tell our story \u2026 what we are doing here is making sure that we get it right.<\/p>\n Pointed to \u201csome members of the community\u201d, including Josh Frydenberg, who expressed concerns over Justice Bell because of her previous decisions on protest laws, he says he listened to a \u201crange of voices\u201d and views.<\/p>\n Mr Frydenberg I leave to one side but we certainly consulted widely \u2026 one of the most common themes that I get from members of the Jewish community is that if you\u2019ve got four people, you will have five opinions \u2026 there is no one of the stature of Virginia Bell, a former high court judge \u2026 someone with a background in the criminal law, someone who is widely respected right across the board.<\/p>\n![\"Adeshola](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Adeshola_Ore.png\")
Adeshola Ore<\/p>\nAdeshola Ore<\/p>\n![\"Krishani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Krishani_Dhanji.png\")
Krishani Dhanji<\/p>\n