Bondi Terror Fallout: Why Families Say the Federal Response is ‘Not Enough’

The open letter from the Bondi families highlights a disturbing pattern of escalating violence and radicalism that they argue cannot be contained by state-based investigations alone.

A central pillar of the families’ demand is an investigation into intelligence and policy failures. It has since emerged that the alleged gunman, Naveed Akram, was interviewed by ASIO in 2019 but was not deemed a “person of interest” at the time. The families are questioning how a man with known extremist associations was able to slip through the net and commit a massacre in 2025.

The letter cites recent harrowing incidents to prove that the threat is not isolated to Sydney:

A Jewish family’s car was targeted just days after the Bondi attack.

A man in Western Australia was arrested with Hamas and Hezbollah flags and a cache of weapons after posting support for the Bondi shooters.

Unlike the government’s independent review, a Royal Commission would have the power to compel witnesses and documents across all state and federal jurisdictions. For the families of survivors like Yakov (son of victim Boris) and the parents of 10-year-old Matilda, anything less than a full federal probe is seen as a failure of leadership.

“You cannot bring back our loved ones,” the letter concludes, “but with a well-led Commonwealth Royal Commission… you may be able to save many more.”