Dennis Richardson felt ‘surplus to requirements’ for anti-Semitism Bondi shooting royal commission

Dennis Richardson says he felt “surplus to requirements” and “more of a highly paid researcher” after his examination of intelligence agency failings ahead of the Bondi shooting was rolled into the royal commission.

The former ASIO and Defence boss quit the Royal Commission into Antisemitism late on Wednesday, with commissioner Virginia Bell thanking him for the work done to date and promising a report on intelligence and security agencies would still be released by the end of April.

The Opposition called his departure “a disaster for the royal commission” and its credibility.

Mr Richardson said he was being paid $5500 a day for his work, while the contract for his review showed he would have earned up to $490,000 for just under five months’ work.

“I’ve got no problem at all with the royal commission continuing in doing what it’s doing. But put it this way, I didn’t necessarily see my last job of this kind being more of a highly paid researcher,” he told reporters in Canberra.

“We all like to do things that we find challenging. I was no longer finding this challenging.”

He first flagged the possibility of quitting with Ms Bell some weeks ago, he revealed on Thursday.

A government source said it was aware of his decision before Wednesday night’s announcement, but Mr Richardson said he hadn’t discussed it with the government given the royal commission’s independence.

Shadow defence minister James Paterson demanded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately get on the phone and ask Mr Richardson to reconsider, and ask Ms Bell to accommodate the former spook.

“This has to be fixed, and fixed today,” Senator Paterson said.

“The prime minister told Australians that Dennis Richardson was the best-qualified person in our country to help the royal commission inquire into the failures around Bondi. Dennis Richardson has now resigned.

“It is a disaster for the royal commission, for its credibility, ultimately for its findings and recommendations.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor repeatedly told reporters that Mr Albanese “must answer these questions” about Mr Richardson’s resignation.

However, the Coalition didn’t ask about the issue during Question Time in either chamber, instead sticking to Australians’ worries about fuel shortages.

Mr Albanese originally tasked Mr Richardson with a standalone investigation into intelligence and security agencies, what they knew or didn’t know about the Bondi terror attack and how any gaps in communications or capability could be fixed.

At the time – in response to questions about his resistance to holding a royal commission –

Mr Albanese said no one could “argue that there is anyone in this nation who is more qualified” to get to the bottom of any intelligence failings and the relationship between Commonwealth agencies and NSW police than Mr Richardson.

After weeks of pressure on the Prime Minister to call a royal commission with stronger powers to take a broader look at the attack and anti-Semitism in Australia, Mr Albanese relented in early January and Mr Richardson’s work was rolled into the larger inquiry.

Mr Richardson said on Thursday morning that “a royal commission works in a particular way” and he would have had more flexibility had his line of inquiry been kept separate from the legal process.

But he heaped praise on Ms Bell, who he described as one of the finest jurors in the country, and said he believed the royal commission would arrive at the same point as his work could have.

“Really, I can’t stress this enough, the Australian public will be as fully informed as if the work I was doing had continued, I can guarantee you that – in fact, it may even be a little bit better informed, because the royal commission has certain powers in respect of the New South Wales Police that I did not have,” he said.

“You can expect the royal commission will come out with findings and recommendations about the way agencies do and don’t work.”