BONDI BEACH — One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts said at a press conference in Canberra that he has no evidence the December 14 shooting at a Bondi Chanukah festival was a false flag. The Queensland senator addressed comments he made during an earlier interview on a YouTube channel in which he had not ruled out the possibility.

"First of all, it's an absurd proposition," Roberts said at the press conference. "Second thing is that I reinforce the fact that I make decisions and statements based on data, and I don't have data."

Asked whether he would confirm he did not believe there was a false flag attack, he said: "That's an absurd proposition." He also addressed the circumstances of the earlier interview, in which social media creator Lisa Jane Spencer had asked, "Do you think that Bondi was a false flag?" In the YouTube interview, he had said: "So, what was the question? Oh that's right, false flag. I haven't got the evidence. I doubt whether it was a false flag." He also told Spencer: "You asked me if I thought it was a false flag. If I make a statement, it's got to be backed by fact. I don't have the facts yet. I'm not ruling it out. You notice that?"

Senator Pauline Hanson spoke alongside Roberts at the press conference. "I will answer because I've had this discussion with Senator Roberts, there is no false flag," she said. Hanson also said: "We have shown our support for the Jewish community, for what's happened in this country. We've been very supportive of the people at Bondi, against the Bondi attack. We've come out quite strong on that." She added: "We've been very, very strong on the floor of parliament to support the Jewish community. We pushed for this royal commission to antisemitism. And we've been very strong on that."

The shooting at a Chanukah festival at Bondi beach on 14 December left 15 people dead. Within hours, police and investigators said they were treating the incident as an act of terrorism, which was allegedly inspired by Islamic State. One of the alleged shooters, Sajid Akram, was killed at the scene. His son, Naveed Akram, is before the courts charged with dozens of offences including 15 counts of murder. The federal government has convened a royal commission into the attack and broader issues of antisemitism in Australia.