The Albany Gazette - Australia PM vows to stamp out hatred as nation mourns youngest Bondi Beach victim

Father-and-son gunmen are accused of firing into crowds at a beachside Jewish festival on Sunday evening, killing 15 in an onslaught authorities linked to "Islamic State ideology".

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised a sweeping crackdown to banish the "evil of antisemitism from our society".

"Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge," he told reporters.

This included new powers to target extremist preachers and to refuse or cancel visas for those who spread "hate and division".

Australia would develop a regime for listing organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech, he said.

"Serious vilification" based on race would become a federal offence.

As the prime minister spoke, mourners gathered for the funeral of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim slain in the attack.

"Matilda is our little ray of sunshine," said the rabbi leading the service, reading out a message from her school.

"She is genuinely the most kind, caring and compassionate young girl, who brightened everyone's day with her radiant smile and infectious laugh."

Black-clad mourners clutched bouquets of lilies as they filed into the funeral at Sydney's Chevra Kadisha, a Jewish society responsible for customary burial rites.

Others held balloons emblazoned with pictures of bumblebees, a reference to the young girl's nickname "Matilda Bee".

Photos taken in the hours before the first bullets were fired showed the young girl stroking animals at a petting zoo and smiling after having her face painted.

Matilda's family -- who have asked media not to publish their last name -- left Ukraine to settle in Australia before the Russian invasion.

"I couldn't imagine I would lose my daughter here. It's just a nightmare," mother Valentyna told reporters ahead of the funeral.

"It just stays here and here, and I can't get it out," she said, pointing to her head and heart.

Her father, Michael, said they chose her name as a nod to Australia, where the beloved folk song "Waltzing Matilda" is sung as an unofficial national anthem.

"We came here from Ukraine, and Matilda was our firstborn here in Australia," he said earlier this week.

"And I thought that Matilda was the most Australian name that could ever exist.

"So just remember. Remember her name."

- Extremist ideology -

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed are accused of opening fire on the Jewish Hanukkah celebration in an antisemitic attack.

Father Sajid, 50, was killed in a shootout with police but 24-year-old Naveed survived.

Reportedly an unemployed bricklayer, Naveed was charged on Wednesday with 15 murders, an act of terrorism, and dozens of other serious crimes.

Authorities believe the pair were radicalised by "Islamic State ideology".

Australian police are investigating whether the pair met with Islamist extremists during a visit to the Philippines weeks before the shooting.

The Philippines said on Wednesday there was no evidence that the country was being used for "terrorist training".

Questions are mounting over whether authorities could have acted earlier to foil the gunmen.

Naveed came to the attention of Australia's intelligence agency in 2019.

But he was not considered to be an imminent threat at the time.

The attack has also revived allegations that Australia is dragging its feet in the fight against antisemitism.

"We stand at a very important moment," government envoy for antisemitism Jillian Segal said Thursday.

"Not only for our community, but for fighting antisemitism around the world."

Australia's leaders have agreed to toughen laws that allowed Sajid Akram to own six guns.

The Bondi Beach attack is the deadliest mass shooting since 35 people were killed in the Port Arthur massacre of 1996.

That shooting sparked sweeping reform of Australia's gun laws.

However, in recent years a steady rise has been documented in privately owned firearms.

(A.Moore--TAG)