Australian PM Albanese gives muted response to antisemitism spike as predecessor slams him for gun control deflection
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under fire for what many see as a weak answer to an antisemitism question that came up after the Bondi Beach shooting.
Critics say he’s sidestepping the problem and instead pointing to gun‑control measures, a strategy that former prime minister John Howard has slammed as a “diversion” from the real issue of antisemitism.
During a Tuesday conversation with ABC Sydney, Albanese insisted his government is “working as hard as we can” to curb antisemitism, despite accusations that his administration’s inaction helped enable the Sunday mass‑shooting.
When asked by host Chris Taylor whether earlier adoption of a 2025 antisemitism report’s recommendations could have saved lives, the PM became defensive.
“I didn’t start antisemitism in 2022,” Albanese said, referring to the year he took office. “It’s been around for a long time.” He also highlighted the role his office played in establishing an antisemitism envoy whose work produced the report.
But Albanese’s record on the matter has been contentious. He’s been heckled for not firmly condemning antisemitic displays, especially after a wave of anti‑Israel protests in Sydney following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
The interview also saw Albanese skirt questions about gunmen’s evasion of police, pointing out that suspect Naveed Akram, 24, was tied to a convicted ISIS associate who was apprehended in 2019. “I wasn’t Prime Minister in 2019,” he replied, defending the earlier decision by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to drop Akram from monitoring.
Rather than dwell on the gun‑control angle, Albanese shifted to talk about strengthening Australia’s already tough firearms laws. Former Prime Minister John Howard called this an attempt to deflect from the failures in confronting antisemitism.
“His greatest failure is not offering the moral leadership required to denounce antisemitism,” Howard told reporters. “What you can say is that governments and individuals can do a lot to discourage the spread of prejudice, antisemitism, hatred of Jewish people, and I don’t think the present federal government and the present prime minister have done enough in that area since 2023.”
Howard urged Albanese to acknowledge shortcomings and to push for a clearer denunciation of antisemitic hate. The call for stronger condemnation was echoed by Nationals leader David Littleproud, who said Labor had “ignored the clues that society signals…the violence problem towards those of the Jewish faith. This isn’t a gun problem, it’s an ideology problem.”
Even Queensland’s LNP premier, David Crisafulli—who had supported the latest gun‑law push—remarked that using firearms policy as the sole answer to Sunday’s tragedy would only grant the terrorists a victory. “It can’t be the panacea for fixing antisemitism,” he told reporters. “If that is the only part of the conversation, evil triumphs over good.”
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