Pro-Palestine vandals target MPs amid rising ‘threat to democracy’

The revelation by Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw comes after Pro-Palestinian vandals defaced the electorate offices of several federal MPs.

Damage to the US Consulate in Melbourne. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw has revealed threats against parliamentarians have increased by 160 per cent since 2020-21 after Pro-Palestinian vandals defaced the electorate offices of several federal MPs early on Friday morning.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned the actions of protesters who also broke windows at the US Consulate General in St Kilda Road, where red paint was splashed and the slogan “Free Gaza” tagged on the front of the office.

Early on Friday, red paint was splashed across the front of the suburban offices of Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten by vandals who also wrote slogans accusing the government of being complicit in genocide in Gaza.

The protesters also targeted the offices of federal Labor MPs Daniel Mulino, Peter Khalil and Ged Kearney in addition to the electorate office of state MP Kat Theophanous.

Senator Wong said workers had a “right to be safe and to feel safe” and it was proper to “condemn protests that are violent, and … hateful and aggressive”.

“What I would say to Adam Bandt, as leader of the Greens which has been part of these protests, that he should condemn the sort of violence we have seen, including the smashing of windows. That’s not acceptable in this country,” she said.

“The depth of the feelings that people have does not justify in this country a resort to violent protest. And Mr Bandt should act as a leader and make that clear.”

Mr Bandt told The Weekend Australian he supported “peaceful protest” and agreed with “the calls from Friday’s protest organisers that any action shouldn’t involve breakage or property damage.”

But he said there was a “deep level of disappointment and frustration in the community over Labor’s continued backing of the invasion”.

The Greens did not organise the protests and the party has no knowledge of any MP attending them.

Appearing before a Senate estimates hearing on Friday, Mr Kershaw said that 725 threats against MPs had been reported so far this financial year compared with only 279 in 2020-2021, labelling it a “concerning trend”.

Damage to Bill Shorten’s Melbourne office by pro-Palestine vandals. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

“In the past four years, reports of harassment, nuisance, offensive and threatening communications against Australian parliamentarians has increased by 160 per cent,” Mr Kershaw said.

“In 2020-21, there were 279 ­reports. So far this financial year there have been 725 reports.”

He also revealed that more activities and events in 2023 attracted a “heightened level of security risk”, requiring the “implementation of additional resources and risk treatments”.

“As of March 31, we recorded a 35 per cent increase year-on-year from 2023 relating to parliamentarians’ movements assessed as a significant risk or higher,” he said.

Mr Kershaw said that threats against parliamentarians were “a threat to democracy” and the AFP was “starting to plan our response given a federal election will be held within a year”.

Mr Shorten, whose office was targeted on Friday, warned “acts of violence which aim to call out violence is counter-productive”.

“It is also unfair on innocent businesses whose signage has been defaced by this illegal behaviour,” he said.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The vandals wrote “40,000 dead you are complicit in genocide” on the front of Mr Shorten’s office in Moonee Ponds.

Victoria Police said it was “investigating after a number of MPs’ offices were vandalised across Melbourne”. “It is believed red paint was thrown at offices from 4am. Offices include St Kilda Road in Melbourne, Main Street Mordialloc, Hall Street in Moonee Ponds and High Street Northcote,” police said.

At estimates, Mr Kershaw said the AFP faced a number of threats with the “potential to impact on our social cohesion, the safety of our youth and our democracy”.

He said since July 2021, the AFP and its counter-terrorism partners had initiated investigations and operational activity in relation to 27 youths who were 17 or younger, the youngest being 12.

He said that, of those youths, more than 60 per cent had been charged with commonwealth or state-based offences including “advocating terrorism; possess/distribute extremist material; acts in preparation for a terrorist offence; membership of a terrorist organisation; drug-related offences; firearms offences; possession of child abuse material; and possess, supply or making explosives”.

He warned online radicalisation of young people was a key issue, declaring parents needed to be “invested in their children’s online nutrition, because there is a lot of junk and rubbish on the internet and social media”.