Source : Perth Now news
Australia’s public probe into the worst terror attack on Australian soil is set to enter its final stage.
The ninth block of hearings for the Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion is due to run in Sydney during two weeks of sessions beginning on Monday.
The block will examine how social cohesion can be measured and its role in human rights frameworks.
Experts will also talk about community and government initiatives to promote social cohesion.
Commissioner Virginia Bell will then table her report in December.
Witnesses on Monday include representatives from the Somali Society of NSW and Australian United Solidarity for Iran, which advocates for human rights in the repressive Islamic republic.
The hearings would bring together evidence from various sectors to “better understand how social cohesion is built and sustained”, Ms Bell said ahead of the hearings.
“We will hear from a range of organisations who have programs and initiatives already operating across Australia and assess how these approaches support safer, more inclusive and connected communities.”
The commission’s establishing documents outline social cohesion as national consensus “in support of democracy, freedom and the rule of law”.
Experts have already outlined education, public institutions and the online environment as key battlegrounds for maintaining cohesion during past hearings.
In the most recent hearing block, professors and public safety professionals noted extremism had evolved considerably in recent years.
Social media played a large role in spreading fresh forms of extreme material to a wider, younger audience.
Extreme ideologies were increasingly mixed and ill-defined, the commission was told.
Misanthropic, violent and gory materials were helping shape an emerging “nihilistic” trend, several experts said.
The commission’s public hearings began in May after the delivery of the commission’s interim report, which featured 14 recommendations.
Early hearing blocks featured personal testimony about the impacts of anti-Semitism and trauma within the Jewish community.
Security and law enforcement witnesses also spoke about counter-terrorism preparedness and intelligence responses to the Bondi terror attack in a mix of open and closed hearings.
Ms Bell also heard evidence of discrimination in public and private industry workplaces.
Educators outlined challenges facing Jewish schools and community protection services aired their security concerns.
NSW Police representatives noted how their world had changed since the December 14 attack, in which 15 people were killed by gunmen targeting Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach.
