Anthony Albanese: Pleas to turn the temperature down after PM bomb scare at The Lodge

A bomb scare that forced the evacuation of the prime minister from his official residence has led to calls for Australians to turn the temperature down.

Anthony Albanese returned to The Lodge in Canberra about 9pm on Tuesday after he was moved to a secure location about three hours earlier, marking the latest in a series of security threats against politicians.

The threat sparked a significant operation by Australian Federal Police, who said a thorough search of the property was undertaken and nothing suspicious was found.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher could not divulge details of the incident but labelled it “very troubling”.

“Our point of view, and the prime minister’s been saying for months, we need to take the temperature down,” she told ABC TV on Wednesday.

The Labor frontbencher said she couldn’t remember a time when an incident like this had occurred and suggested the “online world” had inflamed political tensions.

“”It would be great if people could disagree without issuing a death threat or threatening someone’s life at work, that’s for sure,” Ms Gallagher said.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he was grateful Mr Albanese was safe and condemned threats against politicians as “abhorrent”.

“Pleased to hear that the prime minister is safe and well after being evacuated from his residence in Canberra,” he said in a post on X.

“Threats against any parliamentarian are utterly abhorrent, especially in a country built on expressing our differences through debate.”

The AFP set up a national security investigations team in October 2025 to target people “causing high levels of harm to Australia’s social cohesion, including the targeting of federal parliamentarians”.

AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett revealed 21 people had been charged nationwide since she established the team.

“The majority of these charges relate to threats towards parliamentarians, high office holders and the Jewish community,” she told a parliamentary hearing in February.

The latest threat comes as a 67-year-old Sydney man was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly sending multiple offensive emails to a federal parliamentarian.

Police seized a mobile phone and a USB after executing a search warrant in Wollstonecraft, in the city’s inner-north.

The man was charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Meanwhile, last week, a 51-year-old man was charged over making online threats towards politicians.

The man will face court in April after federal police investigated social media posts that “contained threatening remarks towards two federal parliamentarians”.

The prime minister has been the target of threats before, with a man convicted earlier in February of using social media to menace, harass and offend.

A death threat and a graphic slur were directed at Mr Albanese and his wife, the court heard.

The AFP has reported an increasing number of threats made towards MPs in recent years, including harassment, and offensive and threatening communications.