As recriminations in Canberra grow, Chris Minns has what Anthony Albanese wants

“Bipartisanship does not mean the opposition acting as a rubber stamp,” Ley said in a statement on Monday afternoon. “At no point has the prime minister sought to genuinely engage the opposition in his approach. He has not shared plans, invited collaboration or built consensus. Instead, he has announced measures late and demanded agreement.”

Whenever the splinter point occurred, it has only widened.

The Coalition has leant in to this, mounting a fierce political attack on the government’s record that has veered into personal territory. Ley took it up a notch on Monday, with an extraordinary swipe at Foreign Minister Penny Wong, whom she accused of not shedding a tear over Bondi.

Albanese hasn’t said much about the opposition, so he can’t stand accused of fuelling the febrile environment with his words. (On Monday, he made a point of saying he was deliberately bowing out of partisan commentary.)

But the problem for Albanese is what’s gone unsaid. His early response to the massacre did not cut through. Paired with the prime minister’s deep unpopularity in the Jewish community, this has created a vacuum of authority at a crucial moment.

It was emphasised on Sunday night, at the Bondi vigil, when Minns was applauded while Albanese was jeered. It has paved the way for Ley to step in with salient lines on federal failures, even if they’ve been delivered unpalatably at times.

The latest manifestation is the debate over a federal royal commission. The opposition wants one into both antisemitism and the circumstances that led two gunmen to open fire on innocent people at a Hanukkah celebration, with Jews their target.

The issue is not inherently partisan: Minns will hold one at a state level and, on Monday, federal Labor MPs Mike Freelander and Ed Husic broke ranks to say they also supported a national inquiry.

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Ley proffered it as an opportunity for unity. “I invite the prime minister to sit down with me immediately to refine and finalise these terms of reference so we can establish a royal commission,” she said on Monday. “This is a good faith offer to work together on a bipartisan basis.”

The prime minister has rejected it. Not without reason: he says royal commissions drag on for years and more urgent action is needed. But for the third time in eight days, he was calling a press conference in the prime minister’s courtyard to try and regain control of the narrative.

This time, he did so with more contrition. “A lot of people in the community are hurting and angry, and some of that anger was directed towards me, and I understand that,” he said of Sunday night’s vigil. “I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I’m prime minister. And I’m sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced.”

Albanese will hope it is finally enough to close the chapter on this political debate over Christmas. But it won’t be in the bipartisan spirit he spoke about.

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