Royal Commissions are

powerful tools. They have the same powers as the courts and they are very expensive to conduct. Royal Commissions can compel people to attend and give evidence. Failure to do so can result in contempt proceedings.  They can make orders, not just recommendations. To choose to use that tool is therefore a decision which should not be taken lightly.

There are times however when they should be used. They should be used to ensure that what is investigated is investigated freely and fairly and without favour. The information obtained from them should be used to inform and, where necessary, direct. They can take evidence "in camera" and restrict access to some of the information they are given.

That the present government wants a narrow, internal inquiry into the intelligence services of this country and what led to the failure to prevent the appalling events at Bondi should therefore cause alarm.

There are several things the government is almost certainly trying to do here. One is cover up the failures of the intelligence services. These failures are almost certainly not nearly as great as being made out. Our intelligence services are almost certainly no better and no worse than those of many similar countries. The next is that the government does not want any failures to listen to any warnings to be shown up and laid bare. There will be some of those, possibly rather a lot. This is already public knowledge. The head of ASIO is on public record as giving warnings - and that is just a start.

The other major issue is perhaps the one which should cause the most concern. The government is acting in its own interest here. They do not want these matters discussed. They do not want their own failures to be acknowledged. The next federal election is not due until 2028 but the government is already working towards winning it - and winning the election after that. A great deal of harm to their chances can be done before that and they know it. There are already calls for the Prime Minister to resign over his weak handling of the current events. An internal "inquiry" could sweep a great deal of unwanted information away which a Royal Commission could not.

I am reminded here of the "Bringing Them Home" report in 1997. This was conducted by Human Rights Commission. It is sometimes referred to as the "Stolen Generations Report" and it refers to the inquiry into the alleged practice of forcibly removing indigenous children from their families. That inquiry did not have the powers of a Royal Commission. Perhaps it should have because the information in it might have been much more powerful. As it is, although a compensation fund was set up, there was no widespread demand for reparations. The state I live in was said to be one of the worst for forced removals but just one claim has been made despite support for making a claim and a widespread information campaign about it. A Royal Commission might have brought about different results - but the findings may not have been as acceptable.

This time however the results of any inquiry will affect all of us and affect us into the future. It will affect our national and international relations. That the government believes a weak inquiry will suffice where a Royal Commission is needed suggests they are more interested in retaining power than our future safety and well being.