'Sitting ducks': Federal MPs raise alarm over personal safety fears

Aggressive and violent incidents involving federal MPs have sparked a spike in referrals to national security agencies, with a bipartisan group of parliamentarians warning that Australia's increasingly toxic political debate could lead to tragic consequences.

Several incidents, including a man brandishing a knife in an MP's office, eggings, and direct threats of rape have sparked fears from MPs that they are "sitting ducks" at public events.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have been told the that Australian Federal Police has experienced an increase in reports about direct threats to MP safety over the past two years, with many installing private security cameras at home at their own expense.

Some MPs are referring direct threats on their lives to security agencies at least monthly and federal police are now providing risk assessments for certain elected representatives ahead of public appearances.

Concerns have steadily grown in the three years since British Labour MP Jo Cox was stabbed to death by a far-right extremist during the Brexit referendum campaign.

One veteran MP feared it was now "a matter of when, not if" that a similar attack occurred in Australia.

British MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 in a crime that shocked the United Kingdom and threw the spotlight on the safety of politicians. Credit: Bloomber

Several MPs said while electorate offices across the country had received major security upgrades, there was an "increased awareness" for their own safety and that of political staffers.

They point to a pattern of incidents, including attacks on former senator Fraser Anning, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the assault on former prime minister Tony Abbott during the same-sex marriage campaign in 2017 - and the public reaction that followed - as having "normalised" the behaviour.

Former Labor MP Michael Danby - who received a number of direct threats on his life during his 20-year career - said personal and political threats were worsening.

"Security services do a good job in preventing serious terrorism so far, but I fear MPs, particularly at home, are soft targets," Mr Danby said.

Mr Morrison has urged Australians to "disagree better" amid a rise in bad public behaviour and aggressive language used by politicians and commentators.

Labor MP Anne Aly said she and her staff were left shaken when a man entered her Perth office with a “fairly large kitchen knife” earlier this month. Staff kept him calm until police arrived.

Dr Aly said the incident highlighted some security issues that needed to be addressed but staff had felt "quite safe" behind the glass barrier.

But she said the growing number of public incidents - some of which had been applauded by social media users - were alarming and aggressive taunts had moved "from social media to reality".

"It's actually not the target, it's the act," she said. "This is about the whole discourse, not the individual."

More than 20 MPs told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age they were now wary of promoting events they were attending through social media but stressed they did not want full-time security and have no plans to scale back interactions with constituents.

Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester said the tone of the public debate ran the risk of "giving comfort to people who might take matters into their own hands".

"If someone is not entirely stable, I think there's an increased risk of violence directed at elected members at state and federal levels," he said.

Britain has boosted its spending on security measures for MPs to almost $5 million annually since Ms Cox's murder.

Unlike other comparable nations, only Mr Morrison and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton have a full-time security detail.

More than $120 million has been spent on boosting security at Parliament House over the past four years, including armed police at major entrances, the installation of a huge security fence, and bomb and bullet-proof glass.

Dr John Coyne, a policing and law enforcement analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Australia had long made a virtue of its politicians being accessible to the public.

He said it was not affordable or practical for all MPs to be assigned protection.

"As a general rule we have been very fortunate but there's no doubt the environment has changed as more people view attacking someone as a legitimate form of protest," he said.

The AFP, which would not comment on security arrangements for MPs when contacted, received 181 referrals in relation to alleged offences of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence alone last year. It deployed 1320 officers to 542 events on close protection duties.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said death threats and rape threats were now part of daily life.

A New South Wales police officer was sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond and fined $5,500 last year for threatening to rape the senator's daughter during a phone call to her office.

"It is no surprise that nasty rhetoric in public debate gives a licence to individuals to be aggressive and threatening," Senator Hanson-Young said. "It is worrying that anonymous aggression and vitriol seen online and on social media is becoming normalised."

Former Victorian Liberal MP Sarah Henderson and government backbencher Nicolle Flint were targets of a long-running online campaigns that escalated ahead of the May election, with Ms Henderson hiring a private security company and Ms Flint claiming she was stalked and feared for her safety.