Grim reality as election turns to chaos
Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese face an uphill battle on Saturday as they race to get their campaigns back on message ahead of their official campaign launches this weekend.
The federal election campaign was thrown into disarray on Friday after bombshell news a 16-year-old boy had been charged over an alleged terror plot that reportedly targeted Mr Dutton.
Both the Opposition Leader and the Prime Minister were peppered with questions about The Australian's report, forcing them to give up valuable time in front of the nation's media to address the issue.
Mr Albanese added to the chaos by revealing he also was allegedly targeted in an offence he said remained before the courts, while Mr Dutton used the moment to show a more human side, telling reporters his first thoughts upon hearing the news were for the safety of his family.
The story highlighted a major issue facing this year's federal election.
Just days before the election was called, Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw revealed threats against Australian politicians and dignitaries had nearly doubled in the past two years.
Mr Kershaw said the threats and reports of harassment, nuisance and offensive communications had almost doubled from 555 in the 2021-22 financial year to 1009 in 2023-24.
As of February 28 this year, there had been 712 reports, with the number of threats this year expected to surpass last year's figures.
Giving an update on investigations to a Senate Estimates committee on March 27, Mr Kershaw said six men had been charged across five separate incidents for allegedly threatening parliamentarians in the six weeks prior.
One man was also charged for allegedly threatening a political organisation, with the men aged between 29 to 64.
The chaos did not stop there, with Victorian Police tasked on Friday with removing hateful and homophobic banners placed in the electorate of gay Labor MP Julian Hill.
Officers were called to Hemmings Park bridge overpass, which runs over Princes Hwy, on Friday, before processing the scene and removing banners.
Police were then advised of further incidents where banners had been displayed in various locations, including in Casey and Cardinia local government areas.
One of the banners, which was hung in Mr Hill's home electorate of Bruce, which he holds by a margin of only 5.3 per cent, said: 'Julian Hill MP – more worried about his husband than his constituents.'
The banner, which contained a rainbow flag, did not appear to include an official campaign endorsement and was also attached to public property.
Another stated: 'LGBTQ+ means more to Julian Hill than you the people.'
The banners were slammed as 'disgraceful' by both major parties, and investigations by Victoria Police are continuing.
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