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

The wrong stuff!

Albo’s stitching is undone, and his fluff is showing.

Appearing at the National Press Club after his 2025 election victory, Anthony Albanese strutted like a peacock. Buoyed by a feeble opposition that couldn’t land a punch, his failure on the Voice referendum and quiet withdrawal of the Assistant Minister for a Republic portfolio were quickly forgotten. But as the harsh realities of governance bear down, the Prime Minister’s carefully stitched-together image is unravelling, revealing nothing but fluff beneath.

His embarrassingly weak responses to crises at home and abroad are set against an economy that is teetering on shifting sands.

Albo’s tenure is a tale of big talk and zero delivery. I’ve never heard so much meaningless fluff from an Australian Prime Minister.

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

Michael de Percy’s back from his German sojourn., and he’s taken his axe-like pen to our Incredible Shrinking Prime Minister. As Michael writes, Anthony Albanese has been all talk and in 2026, with likely ongoing inflation, interest rate rises, increasing energy retail prices, and China likely to make a play for Taiwan sooner rather than later – just to name a few annoying little issues. And his prevarications and contortions on an anti-Semitism royal commission – which by necessity should consider the damage to the social fabric cause, as enabled by Australian policy – highlight how Albanese is a merely sectional, rather than a national, leader.

My latest in The Specator Australia, The wrong stuff!

By Albo’s reckoning, a Royal Commission is only the right response when it is not your government that has messed up.

His response to Bondi wasn’t leadership, it was a weak whimper in a time that demanded fortitude.

If his response to the Bondi massacre wasn’t enough, Mr… pic.twitter.com/HCH3JU1wyd

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 6, 2026