A federal MP is calling for a review of security arrangements for Australian parliamentarians following attacks on politicians abroad.
The Nationals’ Darren Chester has written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requesting the review to ensure Australian MPs, their families and staff are safe.
The assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe sent shock waves around the world last week.
In October last year, British Conservative MP David Amess died after being stabbed during a meeting with constituents.
Mr Chester says he is concerned Australian politicians are sometimes vulnerable and now is an appropriate time to “cooly and calmly” assess the risks.
“One of the things we really cherish in Australia is accessibility to our members of parliament,” the Victorian MP told ABC News on Wednesday.
“We want to keep that, but if there are vulnerabilities in the system we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect people and keep them safe in their workplace.”
Several federal MPs have previously been targeted with threatening behaviour.
A man who threatened former Labor senator Kristina Keneally’s due to his anti-vaccination beliefs was sentenced to a good behaviour bond on Wednesday.
The office of Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney was vandalised last year and Assistant Charities Minister Andrew Leigh was granted a personal protection order in March after serious threats were made against him.
Mr Chester said a cross-party review could help to determine whether harassment was under-reported by parliamentarians and to minimise risks.
The government would consider Mr Chester’s suggestion, Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres said.
“I’ve got a high level of confidence in the AFP and the role they play giving security advice and providing security support … (but) there’s always more work that can be done” he said.
Politicians also had a role to play in not associating with unacceptable behaviour, Senator Ayres said.
“We can’t allow ourselves to drift into an environment where we’re using violent language, associating with violent imagery or with extremist politics, particularly extremist right-wing politics,” he said.
“That is a slippery slope that we’ve got to make sure we don’t go down in Australia.”
