Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned that rising political tensions could contribute to physical violence after an attack on independent MP Helen Haines, while stressing that the motivation for the incident remains unknown.
Speaking to the ABC, Mr Albanese said he had previously expressed concern about the increasingly hostile tone of political debate, including on social media.
“I’ve expressed that concern to people in the media. The concern, if you look at anyone’s social media feeds and look at the comments, people will say things that they would never say face to face,” he said.
“But the temperature has undoubtedly been increased. Not just here in Australia, of course. We’ve seen incidents internationally as well.”
Mr Albanese said resources to counter politically motivated violence had been increased after agencies including ASIO warned of a growing risk.
He said politicians should still be able to meet members of the public in everyday settings, including supermarkets, streets and public forums, describing that contact as an important part of democracy.
The prime minister said Ms Haines was well regarded in her local community and across the political spectrum in parliament.
“There’s no place for political violence in a democracy,” he said.
