Statement from Commissioner Bell AC SC

Dennis Richardson AC has resigned from his position as Special Advisor to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.  

As I noted at the Commission’s initial hearing, 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.

Thanks to Mr Richardson and the senior members of his team, Tony Sheehan, the former Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Co-ordinator and Deputy Director-General of ASIO, and Peter Baxter, a former Deputy Secretary at the Department of Defence and Director-General of AusAID, work on the Interim Report is well advanced.

Mr Sheehan and Mr Baxter will remain with the Commission to support preparation of the Interim Report, which I am confident will be delivered in accord with the Letters Patent.

I am grateful to Mr Richardson for the valuable contribution he has made to the Commission.