Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing the most serious test of his leadership just six months after a landslide election victory, as polling shows Labor support plummeting in the wake of the Bondi mass shooting. According to recent Resolve polls published by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, nearly half of voters are unsatisfied with the government's response to the terror attack, and Albanese's personal popularity has dropped to its lowest since the May election.
Albanese has been criticised for rejecting calls for a federal royal commission into the shooting, pointing out that no such commission was called after the Port Arthur massacre or the Lindt siege. Instead, he has backed a state-based royal commission in New South Wales and a review by Dennis Richardson into federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies, due by April. However, prominent Jewish Australians, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the Coalition, and even former High Court Chief Justice Robert French have condemned the decision as insufficient.
At a commemoration vigil on Sunday, Albanese was booed, reflecting deep frustration among Jewish leaders. Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said only a royal commission could provide the full explanation required. Political historian Chris Wallace said Bondi “has profoundly damaged Anthony Albanese’s prime ministership”, citing the government's slow response to the Segal report on antisemitism, which was delivered in July but not acted upon by the summer break.
Pollster Tony Barry noted that Albanese's biggest challenge is a perception of weakness among voters, while opposition leader Sussan Ley has also struggled to strike the right tone. The crisis has drawn unfavourable comparisons with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who has been seen as more decisive. As Albanese heads into the summer break, the path he chooses could determine the success of his second term.
