Albanese raises alarm about polarisation in wake of Kirk shooting

2 days ago 5

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pleaded for respectful debate after the shooting of Trump-supporting influencer Charlie Kirk, weeks after he raised the alarm about growing hostility among protesters in Australia.

The assassination of the conservative activist has sparked a reckoning over political violence in the US, while Australia has grappled with a rise in threats directed at politicians.

MPs’ offices have been defaced over the conflict in the Middle East in the past year, and there were multiple security breaches during the recent election campaign. Far-right social media influencers ambushed Albanese in the lobby of his hotel, while separately, a Sydney man was charged with sending death threats to the prime minister.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said earlier this year that threats against Australian politicians and staff members have almost doubled in the past three years.

Australian politicians expressed worry about the growing trend of violence towards political figures, but most stopped short of endorsing Kirk, who has compared abortion to the Holocaust and made many contentious remarks about African Americans and women.

Liberal MPs Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price both expressed admiration for Kirk without explicitly endorsing any of his positions. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s only remark about Kirk was to say “we stand in solidarity with those who mourn”.

Albanese said polarisation, which he said was fuelled by social media, was worsening.

“There is no place for political violence,” he said on 4CA radio station on Friday.

“Political issues should be dealt with in the way that we dealt with them on May 3 – having a respectful debate, people casting their vote through the democratic means and respectful transition of power in particular seats.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a polarisation of politics. I think the impact of social media is playing a role there. It pushes people towards extremes, whether at the left or the right, and that’s not a good thing here in Australia.

“The fact we have compulsory voting, the fact we have preferential voting as well, pushes people towards more mainstream views and mainstream politics, rather than being at the edges and trying to make people angry and respond emotionally. And it is a real concern, when you look at the world, that there’s no place you’d rather be than here in Australia.”

A debate over social cohesion and extremism flared up earlier this month over anti-immigration rallies held in the streets of Melbourne and Sydney. On September 2, Albanese raised the alarm about intimidatory community activists after he was heckled and chased by tractors full of demonstrators frustrated with a transmission line project in the Victorian town of Ballarat.

The nation’s top spy, Mike Burgess, has warned for two years that the actions and words of politicians risked fuelling political violence following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Authorities’ concerns during that time have been compounded by people waving Hamas and Hezbollah insignia at pro-Palestine rallies.

Teal MP Allegra Spender urged Australians to continue “listening to each other and disagreeing in a constructive way” following Kirk’s death.

Spender found that she never felt unsafe while appearing in public places, saying it was a “wonderful thing” that high-profile politicians can travel freely across Australia.

“You can’t end up with this sort of division and sort of violence that we have seen in the US,” Spender told Nine’s Today. “It’s frightening.”