'Unsettled' MPs say security measures meant to protect them are lacking

Federal MPs have described deep fears for their safety in the wake of the attack on independent MP Helen Haines, with some describing a mixed experience of the security services made available to them.

The Australian Federal Police Association says police protection for MPs and the threat assessments conducted for them must be reviewed, and have called for privately contracted home security inspections to be taken over by the AFP.

While ministers and high-profile individuals receive regular protection and threat assessments, other MPs described infrequent or "tokenistic" threat assessments — in some cases, MPs said they had never been offered risk assessments for their home security.

The attack on Ms Haines outside her Wangaratta electorate office in regional Victoria has shaken federal politicians, particularly because Ms Haines is considered well-liked and less at risk than higher profile or more controversial MPs.

Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said the number of MPs expressing safety fears was increasing.

"Certainly the experience I have had is MPs ringing me and saying they are feeling unsafe," Mr Caruana said.

"We need to make sure that not just that particular person is safe but their entire family. And the number of politicians and the number of MPs that have rung me to say, 'Hey, I feel safe but my family don't feel safe,' … has increased significantly."

National security agencies have repeatedly warned of the growing threat of politically motivated violence.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed more than 1,000 threats to federal politicians had been identified by security agencies in the most recent financial year, and every federal MP that the ABC spoke to described receiving death threats, with some also describing court action resulting from threats made to them, particularly online.

MPs, who spoke on background in order to protect their security arrangements, have described feeling exposed after an attack on a "delightful" regional MP with "non-aggressive politics", who would have been categorised as being at lower risk.

"I feel unsettled, that's how I feel. Unsettled and grieving," one MP said. 

Another said, "As a woman in politics I feel pretty nervous at the moment."

"I am certainly not instilled with confidence they are doing all they can."

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said colleagues had expressed fears for their safety to her.

"Yes, they are [afraid], and I don't think we should pretend otherwise," Senator Gallagher told ABC Afternoon Briefing yesterday.

AFP protection levels must be reassessed: police union

The AFP provides "close personal protection" to high-profile politicians, including MPs deemed to be at higher risk — though for many MPs that service is only periodic or in response to a specific threat.

Mr Caruana said two years ago there were far many more operational hours required than there were sworn officers to meet it, which had since been assessed and rebalanced.

But he said staffing levels would have to be revisited in the wake of the attack against Ms Haines.

"My gut feeling is we may have prioritised costs over safety in some of those instances," Mr Caruana said.

"I think it is very pertinent now that we look at what is the risk assessment, the real risk assessment, and what is the risk appetite of the people we are serving … What cost, what price do you put on that safety?"

The AFP received a little over half a billion dollars in the 2024-25 financial year to protect politicians and sensitive facilities, which the home affairs minister said received "a major increase" at the last budget.

At the 2025 federal election, more than 600 AFP personnel worked more than 45,000 operational hours to provide protective security to politicians and candidates campaigning across the country.

"Where we have landed now is nowhere near that. So we need to find that compromise, we need to find that balance," Mr Caruana said.

"I think it is important that we hear the politicians and their families and what they have to say, why they feel unsafe … sometimes something that can seem quite benign is actually something quite nefarious."

An AFP spokesperson said it did not comment on the specific protective security arrangements for MPs or its capabilities.

MPs have told the ABC the frequency of engagement with the AFP could vary, and that changes in roles or circumstances did not always prompt a fresh threat assessment.

One MP said they were caught off guard after changing roles and attending an event with their children, who were "terrified" when it was crashed by violent protesters.

A 24-hour contact point is available for MPs to report safety concerns, with a dedicated team resourced to investigate threats.

Senior home affairs, AFP and ASIO officers are preparing to update MPs tomorrow on the current threat environment, and will also encourage MPs to share their diaries in order to more proactively manage risks to their safety.

But MPs say for some safety tasks they have been left to themselves, and received "lacklustre" advice such as to vet constituents before meeting them, or not to share in advance that they will be attending an event.

"I am a politician, it is my job to reach out to the community and promote [that]," one MP said.

An AFP spokesperson said the agency had delivered six multi-agency briefings for MPs just this year, which included security awareness resources, engagement and reporting pathways.

One MP warned that a careful balance was needed, that engaging with the public was "fundamental to democracy, [and] you cannot lock your MPs away", and that 24/7 protection would not only be fiscally challenging but also a personal imposition most MPs did not want.

Community Strong MP Allegra Spender said she feared politicians pulling back from the very sort of "active, available and very locally engaged" politics that Ms Haines embodied.

"Security services will only get us so far, I think the bigger issue is culturally," Ms Spender said.

"I think a lot of us thought that something like this could easily happen, truthfully because of the level of aggression you see online, but also that you sometimes see on the streets."

Mixed experiences with home security for MPs

The AFP conducts individualised threat assessments for the highest-risk politicians, such as ministers on the National Security Committee of cabinet, or MPs with Jewish or Arabic backgrounds, but for those deemed lowest risk, threat assessments by the AFP are conducted at a group level.

Further assessments can be conducted in response to an incident or concern, either by the AFP or privately contracted firms.

For many MPs, residential assessments are also contracted to private security firms, which politicians have told the ABC has been a mixed experience.

At least two MPs said there had never been an offer made to them to assess their home security, and that changes in roles or taking on more senior positions did not prompt new threat assessments.

Another said they felt that residential assessment had been "tokenistic", and they had to self-fund some security measures.

Mr Caruana said those residential assessments should be brought under the AFP.

"In my opinion I think that is something that needs to be brought back in-house. Law enforcement agencies, whether it is ASIO, AFP or otherwise are the subject matter experts in this field, not discounting the private firms that are doing it, because I am sure they are doing a great job," Mr Caruana said.

"But we need to ensure we have got some consistency across the board … the AFP does their own risk assessments for residentials for some of our own high-profile members … so we have the capability already, we have the training."