Times of crisis are the moments when leaders are put to the test. War, natural disaster, disease, and acts of terrorism, are such times. Australia is in crisis following the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on December 14. We all know it.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has failed the nation miserably since the sickening terrorist attack late on that fateful Sunday afternoon.

He has announced a puny inquiry that the government itself will control while repeatedly rejecting calls for a full Royal Commission (with judicial powers) into the most horrific terrorist attack in the nation’s history.

Labor has failed the nation for two years in paying lip-service to the growing scourge of antisemitism since Hamas so viciously attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

The spread and growing intensity of anti-Jewish hatred across Australia and globally, was not exactly a surprise to members of the government and their advisers. The evidence was there in plain sight. In Australian cities, on campuses, at schools, and in workplaces, the fear of the Jewish community was palpable and painfully real.

Police and security guards were on high alert. Australia’s counter terrorism agencies were also on alert and went public to say so several times over the two years since the grizzly Hamas attack. Numerous home-grown antisemitic protests and acts of violence, some involving firebombs, have occurred in Australian schools, synagogues and at universities over the last 24 months.

In announcing and defending the narrow ‘departmental inquiry’ into the Bondi atrocity, Labor’s claim to be acting in the interests of ‘unity and social cohesion’ is as vacuous as it is misleading. It will achieve neither of these aims. The signs of a fractured community are glaringly obvious.

After numerous post-attack excruciating media conferences by Albanese and his hapless Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, it’s now more than apparent that the Labor government does not wish to subject itself to the full scope of a Royal Commission. The question being asked by many, is why?

Hundreds of businesses, security, defence, religious, community, diplomatic, and current and former political leaders have rallied in support of a Royal Commission.

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister (published January 2, 2026), states:

‘As business leaders and proud Australians committed to upholding our values of tolerance and mutual respect, we recognise the need for clear answers as to how the Bondi massacre could occur, and for practical solutions to restore social cohesion and protect the safety of all Australians. This is a national crisis, which requires a national response. This goes beyond politics, it’s about the future of our country. We call on the Australian government to immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission.’

In repudiating the ‘high octane’ calls for a Royal Commission, Labor guarantees this glaring failure of leadership will remain an issue until the next federal election due (latest) by May 20, 2028. The earliest date for a federal election is August, 7, 2027 … just 20 months from now. Assuming Albanese retains the leadership of the government (which is by no means guaranteed), the clock is well and truly ticking for Labor.

For evidence that Albanese’s position is under potential threat, look no further than the high number of Ministers and ALP backbenchers ‘missing in action’ over the Christmas break. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, are two notables – along with Treasurer, Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister, Katy Gallagher.

A number of forces appear to be at work in the stance that Labor has so far taken in response to demands for a Royal Commission. Almost all of them have their roots in politics. Labor politics.

Labor advisers – of whom there are hundreds – thrive on the highs of office but have shown themselves utterly incapable of reading the public mood or of doing what is so obviously right under the horrific prevailing circumstances. They are at sea in a crisis. All the prepared talking points, the freshly minted arguments in favour of a narrow inquiry are failing. Labor is fast running out of buttons to push while continuing to sway public opinion their way.

Some might argue Labor is showing its grit by not bowing to the wishes of so many (including the families of the Bondi victims). I argue the opposite.

Many suspect Labor is terrified of having the actions and, more especially, the inactions of its Ministers, staffers, bureaucrats, and departmental heads etc questioned under oath as to the reasons so little was done over the last two years to stem the tide of antisemitism. This is how ruthless the Labor machine has become.

Since its landslide win at the May 3, 2025 federal election the gloss stuck for a while – with Albanese even developing a swagger after (finally) enjoying a cosy Washington meeting with US President Trump in October, 2025.

Today, the swagger has gone, the confidence has gone, the authority of office has gone – all replaced by diffidence, lack of confidence, and bewilderment. Albanese increasingly resembles a cornered person – arguing one thing against a tide of informed public option arguing another. Who will win?

Cold, hard facts of politics have entered the government’s thinking in considering its options.

One thing is certain, Labor will do what is in its interests electorally, and this means fighting hard against the need for a Royal Commission for as long as possible. What is also obvious is that switching tactics now will make Albanese appear weaker, not stronger. He will have been dragged kicking and screaming to a decision which he should have taken within a week of the tragedy.

We ought not forget that such a Commission would have the power to call and cross-examine Albanese and his Ministers.

Whatever happens in Australia between now and the next election – Albanese is a much diminished, failed politician, on borrowed time.

Australia remains exposed to further attacks while so ever the government holds the Labor line.