Strengthening the Royal Commission’s work

Growing up after the Holocaust and influenced by survivors who rebuilt their lives in Australia, I am aware of the fragility of social cohesion and the need to protect minority communities from hatred.

My experience in the Jewish community and public memory institutions has shown that antisemitism rarely starts with violence. It often begins with indifference, institutional hesitation and the gradual erosion of social norms. This background gives me a personal stake in the Royal Commission’s success.

Its work directly affects the safety, dignity, and future of Australian Jews, as well as the values that support our multicultural society.

The appointment of Sydney barrister Richard Lancaster SC as counsel assisting the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is a significant and reassuring step for the Australian Jewish community.

His background of independence, intellectual discipline, and understanding of complex systems aligns with the Commission’s mandate to examine the roots of antisemitism, assess institutional responses and recommend measures to strengthen Australia’s social fabric.

Announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Royal Commission has a demanding mandate. Led by former High Court justice Virginia Bell AC, it must investigate the drivers of antisemitism, evaluate policing and immigration responses, review the Bondi attack and rebuild trust and cohesion. This work requires legal precision, moral seriousness and the ability to balance competing perspectives while serving the public interest.

Lancaster offers the skills needed for this role. Appointed Senior Counsel in 2009, he has appeared in the Federal Court, the NSW Supreme Court and the High Court of Australia. His practice covers public and administrative law, environmental and planning law, commercial disputes, intellectual property and media matters. This breadth reflects a career at the intersection of law, policy and community impact, which is central to the Royal Commission’s work on how prejudice develops and becomes embedded.

His leadership roles further demonstrate his ability to address systemic complexity. As chair of the NSW Bar Association’s Climate Change Committee and environmental counsel to the NSW Environment Protection Authority, Lancaster would have addressed issues involving competing interests, scientific evidence and assessment of long-term societal impacts. These skills are essential for an inquiry that must understand how institutions respond and how communities can be protected.

Environmental law closely parallels the Commission’s work. It requires understanding how small failures can lead to larger harms, how regulatory gaps have real-world effects and how policy shapes behaviour. Social cohesion operates similarly. Antisemitism develops where misinformation spreads, institutions fail to act and social norms weaken. Lancaster’s experience analysing complex systems and identifying points of failure is directly relevant to these challenges.

His litigation record also demonstrates a commitment to accountability. In a notable case, Lancaster successfully challenged the Morrison government’s $21 million grant to Imperial Oil & Gas, halting plans for fracking in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. The case focused on legality, transparency and proper process, principles that will be central to the Commission’s examination of government and institutional responses to antisemitism.

Colleagues describe Lancaster as measured, meticulous and quietly formidable. He is known for prioritising evidence over rhetoric and clarity over theatrics. This temperament is essential in a royal commission, where public confidence depends not only on the findings but on the fairness, transparency and credibility of the process.

For the Jewish community, this inquiry is especially significant as it represents the first national effort to address antisemitism as a structural challenge requiring coordinated long-term solutions.

The Commission provides Jewish voices a formal, authoritative platform and ensures their experiences inform policy, education, and security frameworks across Australia. At a time when many Australian Jews feel vulnerable or misunderstood, the inquiry provides a rare opportunity for truth-telling and national reflection.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has described the inquiry as “an important opportunity for Australians, particularly Jewish Australians, to have their voices heard and to speak to their experiences”. Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash echoed this bipartisan support, stating, “Richard Lancaster SC brings the kind of legal rigour and impartiality this Commission needs. His appointment should give all Australians confidence in the process.”

In the coming months, Lancaster will oversee the preparation and testing of evidence, identify and examine witnesses and help set the inquiry’s investigative priorities.

His role will shape both the Commission’s findings and public confidence in its fairness and effectiveness.

During a period of national division and uncertainty, his steady leadership reassures that the Commission’s work will be conducted with integrity, insight and a commitment to the public good.

His appointment deserves our support.

Roland Gridiger OAM is a lawyer and Holocaust survivor, currently a survivor speaker at the Sydney Jewish Museum.