CANBERRA: Acrimonious political debate in Australia is escalating risks to legislators, one of the country’s most senior police officers said after a lawmaker suffered serious injuries following an alleged attack.
Instances of political conflict or discourse do have "a direct correlation to what we see in terms of threats and abuse, and sometimes it’s very immediate,” Krissy Barrett, commissioner of the Australian Federal Police told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television Sunday (Oct 25).
Helen Haines, an independent legislator, was seriously injured and had her legs amputated after she was struck by a car Monday outside her office in the regional town of Wangaratta, Victoria. Haines, 65, remains in a "serious but stable condition,” the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne said Sunday in a statement.
The incident has triggered fresh concern in Australia about the tone of debate over contentious issues, and has prompted several lawmakers to detail the frequency of threats made to their own safety. "This has had an absolutely chilling effect, not just on federal parliamentarians but indeed on Australia as a country,” Barrett said.
Inquiries are still attempting to determine whether there was a link between Haines’s role as a legislator and the incident, Barrett said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday called for people across society to "lower the temperature of political debate.”
A 43-year-old man appeared Wednesday at a court in Wangaratta on charges related to the alleged attack on Haines, local media reported. Brendan Nugent is scheduled to return to court in February. - Bloomberg
