Television Interview, Sky News First Edition

SUBJECTS: Federal Response to Bondi Terror Attack.

JAYNIE SEAL, HOST: Well for more, joining us live is Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles. Minister, thank you very much for joining us. In terms of the Commonwealth royal commission, are you avoiding responsibility?

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, royal commissions take years and we need to be acting within weeks. It's as simple as that. And we have a very clear sense of what needs to be done. Jillian Segal’s very important report gives a pathway forward in respect of tackling antisemitism. We've endorsed that in full and we now need to be moving on that. And that's why we've announced that we will be acting on hate speech, in particular, going after hate preachers, those who incite hate in others. And we are seeking to do that in a matter of weeks. Royal commissions take years. And legislation such as that hate speech legislation, will not come without controversy. I mean, the Labor Party has put more forms of hate speech into our law, but it has done so in a Parliament where we have faced opposition. And if we go down the path of a royal commission, which will take years, that will give every person in the Parliament who seeks to avoid this a reason not to be supporting these laws right now. We need action now, and that's why we are moving down a pathway of action and not waiting the two years or more that would be required to undertake a royal commission.

SEAL: Well why then, Minister, would we have a Royal Commission for Defence Suicide, then, for example?

MARLES: Well that is a matter that we've seen take place over decades, and that is literally the time frame that that Royal Commission looked into, and it was a very important piece of work. I mean, royal commissions have their place where you are looking at systemic issues which have been in place for long periods of time. But the point to be made here is we've had the Special Envoy Combating Antisemitism undertake a report, come up with recommendations. They are there ready to go. A royal commission will traverse the same ground. But we have those recommendations now, we've endorsed them in full, and we want to move on them right now – in a matter of weeks, not years. And yeah, there is going to be work which needs to be done, if I can finish, in respect of more operational issues such as policing and intelligence and that is where we've got Dennis Richardson working on that. But again, even there, we're seeking to get answers in a matter of months, not in a matter of years.

SEAL: And Minister, the Special Envoy, Jillian Segal, presented the project to your government around five or six months ago and most of that wasn't implemented until the unfortunate terror attack, Australia's deadliest terror attack in Bondi. So, that wasn't rushed in terms of what we're looking at now with gun laws that many people are saying are rushed. There are petitions in regional Australia with hundreds and thousands of people with guns saying that they are, you know, really upset about these laws being rushed, they use them responsibly. But getting back to the royal commission, people want transparency, Minister. They want to see all things on the table. I appreciate that these can take a long time, but if you're getting so much pressure from people, especially in the Jewish community, from what we've just witnessed, why wouldn't your government put forward that royal commission along with what you are doing at the moment?

MARLES: Well, in all that you've just said there's, to be honest, a lot to unpack and it goes to the point here. I mean, there's an accusation in what you've said about delay. In fact, we did implement elements of the Jillian Segal report in terms of putting in place more forms of hate speech, criminalising doxing. So, we were acting on that. But we were really clear, and I made this point last week, much more needs to be done, and we are doing that now and will continue to do that. But in all that you've just said as well, you've made the point that there is controversy in terms of any legal proposition or any law proposition that we put in front of the Parliament, you referenced that in respect of gun reform. And it's exactly because of that, that if we walk down the path of a royal commission, it will become the number one reason why anyone who wants to delay on any of these actions will claim a delay. Now actually, what we see, is that what people want is for us to act and to act now. And we already have answers now. And that's what we need to be moving on now. Not giving those in the Parliament who would want to delay an excuse for that delay and that's what a royal commission will do. And so we are very focused in terms of how we are responding to this, in seeking to engage in action now. And that is the answer to why we are walking down the path that we are walking down. The NSW Government will do their royal commission, of course, we will cooperate with that fully, so there'll be that opportunity. But what we need to be seeing is action now: action on increasing our hate laws, action on combating antisemitism online, action in respect of whatever needs to be done in respect of intelligence and policing to make sure that this doesn't happen again, action in respect of gun laws. All of that is what needs to happen, and it needs to happen with urgency.

SEAL: And Minister, you know, with respect, I do understand that Jillian Segal did have some of the recommendations implemented. I recognise that, and she did mention that on air this week. The majority of it, though, I believe, hadn't been implemented. But again, getting back to the royal commission, and I guess it's that thing where people are not going to buy, perhaps what you have said. People are hurting, people are wanting answers and rightly so, and we do recognise what your government is doing. But I guess the people that are wanting more, the people that have lost lives, lost their loved ones. The former prime minister, Tony Abbott, saying he thinks that there should be a royal commission, you know, David Osip, the list goes on. We've got Josh Frydenberg. There are so many people that are saying that we need a Commonwealth royal commission.

MARLES: Well, we've seen– look, we've seen the Coalition choose to be partisan in this moment. Ultimately, that’s a matter for them. And ultimately, history will judge all of us. Our focus actually has been on seeking to do everything we can to unify the country in this moment. That's where– and they're the only words that you have heard from the government, from the Prime Minister. And from there, to act and to act with urgency. Bringing unity to our country in this moment, seeking to engage in healing, not trying to inflame passions, but to walk down a path of unity and to act as quickly– as methodically and sensibly, of course, but to act as quickly as possible has been our focus. And actually, I think in the fullness of time, that is what people will want to have seen. Not to be walking down a path which, through a royal commission, will not see action for years. We don't have that period of time. And that's been a consistent call from people across the country and, in fact, from across the Jewish community. They want to see action now and that's where our focus is. So what you will hear from the government are words of unity, of doing everything we can to try and bring about healing in this moment, as difficult as that is, but also to move with speed, to try and make sure that we bring about action as quickly as possible.

SEAL: Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, thank you so much. 

ENDS