Man charged over threats at Australian lawmaker’s office, days after attack on another MP

SYDNEY – Australian police said on Oct 22 they had charged a man over threatening behaviour at a lawmaker’s office, days after an attack on a parliamentarian that has put a spotlight on security of elected officials.The 56-year-old was arrested on Oct 21 after he allegedly made threats and brandished a pair of nunchucks, Western Australian state police said.The incident took place at the electoral office of state lawmaker Hannah Beazley, a member of Australia’s ruling Labour Party, local media said.The man has been charged with making threats as well as possession of cannabis and will face court on Oct 22, police said.It comes days after lawmaker Helen Haines was struck by a car outside her office in the rural town of Wangaratta, north-east of Melbourne.Surgeons had amputated both her legs, her husband Phil Haines told journalists on Oct 21.Haines’ alleged attacker faced court on Oct 21.The incident has prompted soul-searching in a country where political violence is rare but where police have documented a steady rise in threats and abuse towards elected officials in recent years.The attacker’s motive remains unknown and authorities have said they will not speculate while the investigation is ongoing.But the attack has prompted calls for a dialling down of the temperature of political debate.Governor-General Sam Mostyn – King Charles III’s official representative in Australia – said the nation was crying out for “decency”.“Australians are yearning for kindness and care, and they’re asking us why we’ve lost the great skill of disagreeing well,” Mostyn said on Oct 21.Threats against Australian lawmakers and electorate offices doubled between 2021 and 2025, with 1,067 incidents reported to police in 2025.Federal lawmakers and their staff were briefed on security on Oct 21 by Australia’s spy agency and the federal police.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Oct 22 there had been a “normalisation of behaviour that can be very aggressive” in recent years.“It was incredibly unusual for there to be people charged with threatening MPs ten years ago,” he told ABC Sydney radio. AFP