Government Announces Royal Commission Into Antisemitism In Three Weeks;

CANBERRA – In January 2026 the Australian Government announced a royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion. The commission was established within weeks of the Bondi attack. It was widely supported. Aboriginal community leaders say they also support the commission and would now like to discuss the speed at which things happen when their people are dying.

The 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody made 339 recommendations. Thirty-five years later the majority remain unimplemented. Aboriginal people have called for a new royal commission for years. The government has responded by extending the monitoring program which counts how many people die without doing enough to stop them dying.

Last year 33 Aboriginal people died in custody – the highest proportion in more than four decades. Nearly 600 Indigenous people have died in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission. The Human Rights Commission issued a rare joint statement from all seven commissioners demanding “immediate reform.” The government said it was “committed to reducing incarceration.” The incarceration rate went up.

Community leaders say they are not asking the government to choose between protecting Jewish Australians and protecting Aboriginal Australians. They are asking the government to apply the same urgency to both. “When there’s a crisis and the media covers it the government moves fast” one Elder said. “When the crisis is us the government establishes a working group.”

The parliamentary inquiry into racism against First Nations people was announced in March 2026 and will report by September. A royal commission has broader powers of investigation and its recommendations carry more weight. Community leaders say the difference between an inquiry and a royal commission is the same as the difference between being heard and being listened to.

The Antisemitism Royal Commission was chaired within a month. Deaths in custody have been monitored for 35 years. Community members say monitoring is not the same as prevention. “You don’t put out a fire by counting the flames” one advocate said.