In short:
Authorities are charging almost one individual every week for targeting Commonwealth parliamentarians or high office holders.
asserted
Authorities → charge → parliamentarians
The attack on Independent MP Helen Haines has shocked Canberra and the wider community.
asserted
attack → shock → Canberra
Ms Haines lost a leg, and doctors are fighting to save the other.
asserted
doctors → lose → other
A car-ramming attack on independent MP Helen Haines is the most serious violence against an Australian politician since the killing of a NSW MP in the 1990s, but it did not occur in isolation.
asserted
it → occur → isolation
The number of threats against parliamentarians is up fourfold since 2020, amid repeated warnings from the Australian Federal Police about a rise in politically motivated violence.
asserted
number → repeat → violence
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett says authorities are charging “almost one individual every week” for targeting Commonwealth parliamentarians or high office holders, adding it is one of the “biggest parts of the business”.
asserted
it → say → business
Ms Haines has lost a leg, and doctors are fighting to save the other after she was hit by a four-wheel drive in an attack outside her electorate office in Wangaratta on Monday.
asserted
she → lose → Monday
AFP data shows an alarming upward trend of threats and harassment towards federal politicians since the start of the decade.
asserted
data → show → decade
In the past year, 41 people were charged with offences relating to threats against parliamentarians, the AFP said.
asserted
AFP → charge → parliamentarians
Threats to candidates during the 2025 election were also 17 per cent higher than during the previous campaign.
And just days before the attack on Ms Haines, Labor MP Anne Aly said she had received 19 death threats on social media, in response to comments from Liberal MP Angie Bell calling for her and the prime minister to be "shamed and stoned in the square" over an Australian Tax Office decision to stop taking credit card payments.
asserted
her → say → payments
A 'new step' in political violence
Lowy Institute research fellow Lydia Khalil said the attack on Ms Haines was "unfortunately tragic but unsurprising" given the current political climate in Australia.
asserted
attack → say → Australia
Misinformation and a "worrying" breakdown in trust were leading to a harsh critique of leadership, Professor Khalil said.
asserted
Khalil → lead → leadership
"A lot of it is driven by a more fundamental factor of an othering of political leaders and almost a dehumanisation of them," she said.
asserted
she → drive → them
Anti-elite and anti-government conspiracy theories enabled by the digital media environment led to the dehumanisation of political figures, she said, while "othering" lowered the barrier to violence.
asserted
othering → enable → violence
"That's a troubling trend that I don't think we're paying enough attention to," she said.
asserted
she → think → attention
Deakin University political sociologist Josh Roose said the attack on Ms Haines marked a "new step" in political violence in Australia.
asserted
attack → say → Australia
He said nothing had been as "sensational in the sense that it's in a public street" since the murder of NSW MP John Newman, who was shot dead in the driveway of his home in 1994.
asserted
who → say → 1994
"You have an elected official, a well-respected member of the community, a grandmother, a mother, being run down in the street," Dr Roose said.
asserted
Roose → have → street
"You've got someone who cares about their community who's not a member of a major political party who, in all intents and purposes, is well respected, being targeted because she's at the front line.
asserted
she → get → line
"
Nearly one in 10 say political violence sometimes 'justified'
asserted
violence → say → ?
A McKinnon Institute survey from 2025 found nearly 9 per cent of Australians either strongly or somewhat agreed with a question asking whether it was sometimes justified to use extreme measures, such as violence, to advance a cause.
asserted
it → find → cause
The result was concentrated among certain age groups, with those below the age of 35 more than twice as likely as those over 50 to say they supported political violence under some circumstances.
asserted
they → concentrate → circumstances
"Nine, 10 per cent is a substantial amount of people who are saying something like that," Professor Khalil said.
asserted
Khalil → say → that
"That is not a sign of health within a democracy."
The finding is part of a wider trend, with acceptance of political violence climbing across numerous countries.
asserted
acceptance → climb → countries
The World Bank measures "political stability" based on multiple sources that track terrorism, electoral violence, risk of political instability, and social unrest.
asserted
that → measure → instability
It shows Australia's metric has slid since 1996, but not as far as the United States.
asserted
metric → show → States
Australia's score is also higher than the United Kingdom's, but statistically there is not as significant a difference.
asserted
score → be → Kingdom
Professor Khalil said when you looked at Australia comparatively across the globe, "We are still doing better than some democracies."
"For example, you're seeing the recent rioting in Paris.
asserted
you → say → Paris
So relatively speaking, we are doing better," she said.
asserted
she → speak → ?
"But we are in territory that we still don't want to be in."
asserted
we → want → that
The Aporia
