Dennis Richardson resigns from Royal Commission
'The interim report that will now be done by the Royal Commission will be a very different document to the one that I would have done'
Former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson has resigned from his position as special adviser to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, saying he had become “surplus to requirements” and that what he was being paid was not consistent with the work he was doing.
In an interview with ABC Radio on Thursday, Richardson said the interim report he had been working on prior to the Royal Commission being formed was “folded into” the commission, changing its nature.
“Soon as it became folded into the Royal Commission, particular legal frameworks were put around it. So the interim report that will now be done by the Royal Commission will be a very different document to the one that I would have done when I was doing the review prior to the Royal Commission being announced,” Richardson said.
“I just came to a view that what I was being paid wasn’t consistent with the work I was doing.”
Royal Commissioner Virginia Bell thanked Richardson for his contribution and said work on the interim report was “well advanced”.
“Mr Richardson was uniquely well placed to advise on the material to be sought from our intelligence and security agencies in order to assess the effectiveness of their preparedness for, and response to, a terrorist attack,” Bell said.
The AJN understands two senior members of Richardson’s team — Tony Sheehan, former Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator and Deputy Director-General of ASIO, and Peter Baxter, a former Deputy Secretary at the Department of Defence and Director-General of AusAID — will remain with the commission to support preparation of the interim report, due at the end of April.
Richardson was originally appointed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the weeks after the Bondi Beach terror attack to lead a review into federal government intelligence and security agencies, investigating whether ASIO and the Australian Federal Police had done everything possible to prevent the attack.
After weeks of pressure, Albanese announced the review would be folded into a broader Royal Commission, with Richardson acting as adviser.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry declined to provide a comment on Richardson’s departure.
But the CEO of the right-leaning Australian Jewish Association, Robert Gregory, said the resignation risked undermining confidence in the process.
“Everything about this Royal Commission has been problematic from the outset,” Gregory told Sky News.
“The Albanese government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to establish it, and serious concerns have existed from the beginning about its structure and terms of reference. The resignation of Dennis Richardson now raises further questions that must be answered.”
Chair of the Australia-Israel Allies Caucus Andrew Wallace said Richardson’s revelation should concern all Australians.
“That revelation should concern all Australians, particularly the Australian Jewish community and the families of those who lost loved ones in the horrific attack at Bondi,” Wallace said.
“The Prime Minister and the Attorney-General must urgently explain what has occurred and why one of Australia’s most respected national security experts felt he had no option but to step aside.”
Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash said the government must explain whether Richardson was prevented from doing his job and what would happen to the intelligence investigation.
Richardson is one of Australia’s most respected public servants, previously leading ASIO, the Defence Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and serving as Australia’s ambassador to Washington.