Albanese’s dithering on terror

We warned that Albanese’s obsession with domestic optics undermined Australia’s national security.

From May to September 2024, we warned that Albanese’s obsession with trendy domestic optics was dangerously undermining Australia’s national security, both at home and abroad. We highlighted how his preference for ‘de-escalation’ rhetoric in the face of repeated grey-zone provocations such as China’s People’s Liberation Army harassments of Australian Defence Force personnel was inviting escalation and eroding our credibility with key allies like the United States and Nato and across the region.

We criticised specific decisions, such as the scaling back of participation in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, the snub of the Ukraine peace summit, and the tokenistic approach to countering Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. These were not mere oversights. They were signals of weakness that emboldened autocrats and left Australia exposed to hybrid threats. 

Tragically, events since then have proven our warnings right and with devastating force. 

My latest in The Spectator Australia with Professor Sascha Dov Bachmann, Albanese’s dithering on terror.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s leadership has been exposed for what it truly is – all fluff and no substance.

Rather than demonstrating decisive leadership by cracking down on rising radical Islamist extremism, enhancing security protocols, or confronting radicalisation… pic.twitter.com/Vvw5MthvNm

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 10, 2026

Labor’s Royal Commissions are typically political theatre

Royal Commissions should fix problems, not fabricate scapegoats.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Albanese announced a Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. Retired High Court Justice Virginia Bell AC has been appointed to lead the inquiry, despite opposition from some in the Jewish community over a lack of consultation, despite Mr Albanese claiming to have consulted widely.

As a political scientist, I’ve observed how governments wield the instrument of Royal Commissions not just to uncover truths, but to shape narratives that suit their political agendas. The Australian Labor Party has earned a particular reputation for crafting terms of reference and timeframes that conveniently cast their opponents as villains while airbrushing their own historical complicity. This isn’t about partisan sniping, it’s about ensuring that inquiries serve justice and reform, not electoral advantage.

Prime Minister Albanese announced a Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

As a political scientist, I’ve observed how governments wield the instrument of Royal Commissions not just to uncover truths, but to shape narratives that suit their political agendas.… pic.twitter.com/5HevH1V1xR

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 9, 2026

Albanese folds, appoints Virginia Bell to lead Royal Commission

Albanese folds, appoints Virginia Bell to lead Royal Commission.

In a press conference this afternoon, Prime Minister Albanese announced a Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

He claimed that the NSW Royal Commission would have been, in effect, a ‘de facto’ Commonwealth Royal Commission into the Islamist-inspired massacre that killed fifteen people at the Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach.

However, he had ‘reflected’ and ‘listened’ and established a Commonwealth Royal Commission.

The Commission will be led by retired High Court Justice Virginia Bell AC, who was appointed by Labor Attorney-General Robert McClelland to the High Court in 2009.

Bell led the inquiry into former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s multiple ministries.

The Commissioner has been tasked with tackling antisemitism, making recommendations to assist law-enforcement to tackle antisemitism, to examine the circumstances surrounding the Bondi terrorist attack, and to make any other recommendations arising out of the inquiry for strengthening social cohesion.

The Prime Minister stated that it won’t be a drawn-out process, with the inquiry to report before 14 December 2026.

The inquiry is not to compromise any criminal proceedings.

The inquiry will also consider antisemitism in our education sector, drawing on Gonski’s existing antisemitism education task force.

Mr Albanese stated that his government had addressed hate speech, hate preachers, and tougher gun laws. He stated that the Royal Commission would not substitute for the current tactical improvements being investigated by Dennis Richardson but strengthen these.

Mr Albanese claimed that he had ‘listened to people very genuinely’, and that the Richardson Review was absolutely critical to the process. He also claimed that antisemitism went back ‘many, many years’ and that the Royal Commission presented an opportunity to improve social cohesion.

He also claimed that the 73-point plan presented by the Opposition would have taken too long, hence the Richardson Review’s importance as part of the Royal Commission process.

In a press conference this afternoon, Prime Minister Albanese announced a Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

He claimed that the NSW Royal Commission would have been, in effect, a ‘de facto’ Commonwealth Royal Commission into the Islamist-inspired massacre… pic.twitter.com/CC2RViaFGz

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 8, 2026