Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to call a royal commission after the Bondi attack is a huge concession to cap a politically damaging chapter. It finally satisfies calls from the victims’ families, the Jewish community and public figures who have been pushing for a federal commission since December.

It’s also a political win for the federal Coalition and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who championed the royal commission early and were unrelenting in their attack on the government.

But the politics must now be set aside, if the royal commission is to have a fair chance of meeting the manifold public expectations of it that have coalesced during the past three weeks. Distilled most simply, Commissioner Virginia Bell is being asked to deliver accountability for families and chart the pathway for a more cohesive country after its worst terrorist attack.

Is there room for unity? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese’s most vociferous critics won’t want to let him off the hook, but the commission will struggle to meet its duty if the political noise continues and Bell’s work is undermined.

The government has made its U-turn in establishing this royal commission, and now it moves on to the thornier requirements of that task. Deciding on the commissioners who lead it is one; defining the terms of reference is the other. Bell’s appointment, when it leaked on Wednesday night, quickly became another debate. Where it goes from here will be the next test of Australia’s political leadership.

The royal commission has been handed a weighty task. It involves illuminating any security or intelligence failures that contributed to the Bondi attack, and revealing what the targeting of Jews celebrating Hanukkah tells us about the spread of antisemitism in Australia.

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