Why Albanese is plain wrong on a Bondi royal commission

2 months ago 16

Opinion

December 26, 2025 — 5.00am

Anthony Albanese’s opposition to a national royal commission into the massacre at Bondi is, quite simply, baffling. As the shock and indignation of the first days after the attack have given way to grief, rage and partisan politics, the prime minister has dug in his heels over and over again, insisting a federal inquiry is not needed.

Albanese has offered justifications that a national inquiry would slow down the learning of lessons from the attack, that NSW is holding one anyway, that one was not held after either the Port Arthur massacre or the Lindt cafe siege, and that former senior public servant Dennis Richardson has the trust of security agencies, so will be able to undertake a quick review.

This all sounds quite reasonable until you remember that Port Arthur, in particular, was a lone-wolf attack that did not occur, as Bondi did, because of a potentially glaring intelligence failure by security agencies, which they would dispute and which needs to be settled by an impartial third party.

A state-based commission could be hamstrung in its ability to call some federal witnesses. It would also lack the scope to examine the rise of antisemitism across the nation, with the firebombing of a rabbi’s car in Melbourne in the early hours of Christmas morning another reminder that this isn’t just a Sydney problem.

Yes, the Coalition is using calls for a royal commission as a wedge to damage the federal Labor government, but it is also reflecting the demands of the Jewish community and the broader Australian community. Further, when former High Court chief justice Robert French, former head of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service Nick Warner, current and former Labor MPs including Mike Friedlander, Ed Husic, Mike Kelly, Nova Peris and former premier Peter Beattie, and country independent Helen Haines are among those people calling for a federal inquiry, it is safe to say it is not only a partisan push.

And that’s before the brother and parents of Lindt cafe victim Katrina Dawson called for a federal inquiry on Wednesday.

It is time for Albanese, who is in the midst of the most difficult moment of his career, to eat a bit more humble pie and sign off on a royal commission – or provide a much better explanation as to why not.

The shift in attitude towards Albanese in this week’s Resolve Political Monitor, in which his net performance rating plummeted 15 percentage points to minus 9 per cent and the government was savaged for its handling of the massacre, has been extraordinary and should confirm to the prime minister that he needs to listen more to advice.

We can’t unknow or unsee the events of Bondi, which will haunt this nation – and particularly the Jewish community – for years to come. But as a nation, we deserve to know what happened, including what, if any, intelligence failures occurred, no matter how uncomfortable it may make some people.

Richardson was a fine boss of spy agency ASIO and the defence department, and a former US ambassador, and he has been appointed to senior roles by both Labor and Liberal governments. However, he is also an insider when the moment arguably calls for an outsider to review what happened from the security perspective – and that’s before a proper reckoning with the growth in antisemitism in this country.

Nobody could be prepared ahead of time for an atrocity such as Bondi. The prime minister’s initial response did not meet the moment, which he is almost ready to admit privately. Though it took him most of a week, he has faced his critics and worn the raw grief of the crowd at Bondi. He has (in the language of his own Catholic faith) shown contrition, attended interfaith services, called a dozen or more meetings of the cabinet and the national security committee of cabinet, finally responded to antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report, and spoken with victims and survivors. And still he resists calling a royal commission.

Historical precedents exist. Jacinda Ardern ordered a royal commission after the Christchurch massacre. Further, Albanese has advocated in the past for royal commissions, such as into robo-debt and the banking sector, and the fact the NSW Labor government has already called one suggests the correct course of action for Albanese.

The federal opposition, for its part, has been reflecting the righteous anger of the Jewish community, as Sussan Ley did this week when she thumped a lectern and ripped into Penny Wong for not having visited the Bondi site or shed a tear. The opposition’s criticisms and comments, however, haven’t always landed.

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, a prime ministerial aspirant, posted a video on social media with the subtitle: “It’s time to reach for the deport button.” Hastie spoke in a little more detail in the video about wanting all non-citizen radical hate preachers deported and strengthening the Migration Act, but he ended on the most simplistic of notes: “It’s very simple. No.1: deport all hate preachers, and No.2, narrow the gate for entry into this country.”

Yes, we need to have these conversations about immigration and, yes, laws need to be changed. Unfortunately, migration policy isn’t simple.

Naveed Akram was born in Australia, and his father, fellow Bondi gunman Sajid Akram, had lived here since 1998, having been allowed into the country by the Howard government and having had his visa renewed under subsequent Liberal governments. There is plenty of blame to be spread around.

Ley was supposed to have announced a new “get tough” policy on immigration before Christmas but has since pressed pause because of the Bondi massacre.

When the Coalition puts forward its approach, let’s hope it does so with a little more nuance and bipartisan spirit than it has shown in recent days – not for the sake of the prime minister, but for a weary nation still reeling from 15 deadly blows on Australian soil.

James Massola is chief political commentator.

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