Australian Politicians Face Escalating Security Threats Amid Toxic Political Climate

One of Andy Burnham’s priorities when he becomes British prime minister in a few days is a review of security for members of parliament.

Away from Westminster while serving as the mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham says he has been shocked by the change in security threats facing parliamentarians during his decade absent.

Responding to the horrific death of former Conservative MP and Reform spokesperson Ann Widdecombe at her home in south-west England last week, the incoming Labour leader lamented the “darkened” state of the political landscape.

Social media, he said, was helping drive toxicity in public life as he called for a serious review of security settings.

A 28-year-old man has been charged over the alleged commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism in the Widdecombe case. Two other British politicians have been killed in the past decade: Labour’s Jo Cox in 2016 and the Conservative David Amess in 2021.

It would be easy to overinterpret events in the UK, or even in Donald Trump’s US, when thinking about Australia – but some of the same conditions exist here.

The rising tide of threats faced by members of parliament, their staff and families here has been described as the most dangerous security environment in decades. Ask almost any MP in Canberra – let alone those with high-public profiles – and they will have a list of disturbing incidents.

A quick call around in recent days elicited another set of worrying stories: online and in-person threats, strangers showing up at homes and offices, intimidating voicemails and social media posts and unnerving encounters involving family members, staff and volunteers.

More than a few have reported incidents to police and security agencies, including instances involving people with weapons. Many interactions have a menacing undercurrent – but also an air of plausible deniability. Some government ministers have had to close their electorate offices for long periods in recent years, while a small number have even moved out of their family homes.

The Australian federal police do much of the work of close personal protection for politicians. More than 50 police reports on a range of alleged criminal offences were made during the last federal election campaign and the AFP received 951 referrals or threats against parliamentarians in the 2024-25 financial year, an increase of more than 60% in just four years.

For all its benefits in building community and providing entertainment, social media is changing the way some people interact with individuals in positions of authority and the institutions of our society.

Asio’s director general, Mike Burgess, provided his annual threat assessment last month, the first since the horror of the Bondi Beach terror attack. As well as highlighting corrosive antisemitism and violence against Jewish Australians, he said politically motivated violence was an “acute concern”.

MPs have registered a shift in our politics, including the loss of civility encounters, with many choosing not to publicise their locations ahead of public events.

Asked about sexist and demeaning billboards targeting the Victorian premier in a press conference at Parliament House a few weeks ago, Anthony Albanese reminded the media and voters at large that heated political rhetoric can act as lighter fluid for more serious threats.

Himself never without a serious security presence, Albanese restated his view that the temperature of the political debate needed to be urgently lowered. Defending the right of politicians and the media to disagree on the issues, Albanese said personal attacks, abuse, threats and denigration were never the answer.

“What I don’t want to do is to have a press conference in this courtyard after a tragedy,” he said, noting there were multiple people facing court or under investigation for threats against him on that very day.

Immediately after the Bondi attack, far-right activists and neo-Nazis allegedly targeted Albanese, even threatening to kidnap him.

Seperately, the PM has blamed pro-Palestinian activists for years of heated protests and vandalism at MPs’ electorate offices.

The price of higher security for elected officials is further distancing between decision makers and those who elect them. Already some of the down-to-earth spirit of Australian politics has been lost, and limiting interactions because of threats could further isolate good policymaking from the experiences of everyday people.

All of these challenges are hard to solve and easy to add to. Take the sad spectacle of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson palling around with far-right activist Tommy Robinson in a podcast on Friday.

Robinson revels in stoking unrest, especially against multicultural communities, and has a lengthy criminal record and history of prison time. His previous convictions include assault, mortgage fraud, using a false passport and contempt of court.

In the interview, Hanson complained about threats against her and her family and the need for 24/7 security protection – seemingly unwilling or unable to connect the rising political temperature with the actions of her new friend.

At one point, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, even asked Hanson why she was willing to keep fighting in politics, despite violence and even “anarchy.” Hanson apparently missed the irony.

Andrew Hastie, a Liberal frontbencher, revealed in June that he was set to receive extra security because of what he believes is a One Nation-fuelled campaign against him, partly driven by his stance on the Ben Roberts-Smith war crimes allegations.

Hastie was told he had been identified as needing additional protection by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, though the nature of the threats was not made public.

Burke has already consulted on plans to boost protection for politicians and their families at home, in electorate offices and at public events, recognition of a growing risk.

Australian politics isn’t Britain’s or America’s, and the threats facing elected representatives here are different, but we shouldn’t be naive about the deterioration in political debate and the roiling of emotions and prejudices on social media.

Experience in the UK could suggest a serious review of security settings here might be timely.