Australia’s top federal law enforcement official has drawn a direct link between politicians’ rhetoric and threats and abuse being directed at leaders.
The safety of elected representatives at all levels has been thrown into the spotlight after independent MP Helen Haines was allegedly deliberate attacked outside her Wangaratta electoral office.
Haines remains in a serious but stable condition at the Alfred hospital in Melbourne, following her double leg amputation.
The Australian federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said there was no doubt the threat environment had changed for politicians.
“When I start work every morning, one of the first things I do is read a report … [that] summarises all of the threats that have been reported to the AFP over the last ۲۴ hours,” she told the ABC’s Insiders program.
“Now, some days that report is pages and pages long.”
The commissioner said she wasn’t interested in policing free speech or intervening in political discourse.
“But I would challenge any Australian to read some of these threats and some of the abuse that is reported to us from federal parliamentarians and for anyone to argue that that is free speech or political discourse,” she added.
The move from the sending of physical hate mail to online threats had played a significant role in the increasing volume of worrying material, while also highlighting the influence of inflammatory political imagery and language.
“We do see where there is particular political conflict or discourse occurring … it does have a direct correlation to what we see in terms of threats and abuse, and sometimes it’s very immediate,” Barrett said.
Past One Nation cartoons depicting political figures, including the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, being hit by cars or buses have resurfaced in the days since the alleged attack on Haines.
The AFP commissioner said there was “a reaction amongst the community” to material such as the cartoons.
The policing agency, which is responsible for protecting federal politicians and office-holders, has held a number of emergency safety briefings with parliamentarians since Monday.
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Male and female MPs were targeted equally with threats and abuse, Barrett said, but women were more often singled out individually, often with threats of sexual violence.
“My hope is that this really causes people to pause and have a think about what’s happening in this country and the impact of that,” she said.
“And if this is not the incident, then what is?”
Federal MPs from across the political spectrum have acknowledged the difficulty in balancing their personal security and access to voters.
“As a local MP, I don’t want to stop going to community events,” Liberal frontbencher Ted O’Brien told News۲۴ on Sunday.
“That open access is a cornerstone of democracy. We’re particularly good at it in Australia. We can’t take away grassroots politics.”
Labor minister Catherine King said she has been contending with the deteriorating safety for some time.
“It is when, not if, that something will happen to one of us and we’ve been saying that certainly for the last five years or so,” she said.
“I had a mobile caravan for almost ۲۵ years. I don’t use that now because it doesn’t have a second exit point.
“If someone did kick off and I’m trapped in the van, it’s very hard to deal with that.”
