Anthony Albanese bomb scare has politicians on edge amid calls to ‘turn temperature down’
Senior MPs have renewed calls to ‘turn the temperature down’ after Anthony Albanese was evacuated from his official residence in Canberra following a bomb scare.
Politicians have renewed calls to “turn the temperature down” after a “very troubling” bomb scare at Anthony Albanese’s official residence in Canberra overnight.
The Prime Minister was evacuated from The Lodge to a secure location after the Australian Federal Police responded to an alleged security threat at about 6pm on Monday.
After sweeping the property, AFP officials deemed it safe and the Prime Minster was allowed to return just after 9pm.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Finance Minister Katy Gallagher described it as a “very troubling” incident and urged people to “take the temperature down” amid rising political threats.
“Our point of view, and the prime minister’s been saying for months, we need to take the temperature down,” she told ABC breakfast TV.
“It would be great if people could disagree without issuing a death threat or threatening someone’s life at work, that’s for sure.”
Politicians from across the aisle also condemned threats against politicians and issued words of support for Mr Albanese following a security incident on Tuesday evening.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he was “pleased” the PM was “safe and well” after the ordeal.
“Threats against any parliamentarian are utterly abhorrent, especially in a country built on expressing our differences through debate,” he posted on X.
Greens leader Larissa Waters also said she was relieved the PM was safe after being evacuated, adding “a bomb threat overnight is shocking”.
“The recent escalation of threats against parliamentarians must be called out. Violence has no place in our democracy,” she said.
Greens senator Nick McKim said Australia’s should be able to take part in political debate safely and insisted had a role to play in keeping discourse on civil terms.
“I think what we have to be careful about is that politics is absolutely rife for disagreement — and we should be passionate about our positions, we should argue our position strongly and forcefully — but there is a line that we don’t want to cross,” he told the ABC.
“It’s about finding that balance between representing the people that put us into parliament, speaking on the issues that we care about with passion and conviction but also trying to hold a basic level of respect across the political spectrum.”
Labor MP Julian Hill also echoed the call for to de-escalating tensions.
“One of the wonderful, beautiful things about our country that we don’t want to lose is that leaders in every sphere, whether they’re personalities in the media, whether they’re political leaders, judges, and others, can move freely about society, can engage, right across all parts of society without massive security coordinates and bubbles around them,” he told Sky News.
“We don’t want to lose that aspect of our national character, and we need to turn the temperature down.”
The PM left Canberra on Wednesday morning to fly to Melbourne where he intends to continue with his pre-scheduled list of engagements.
