'More and more challenging to do this job': MPs fear rising political tensions

It's been a difficult week for even the most hardened of politicians in Western Australia, with an increase in hostility at their workplace prompting plenty of soul searching.

Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson, not one to back down from a debate, was visibly shaken as she arrived at Parliament the day after staff at colleague Hannah Beazley's office were allegedly threatened.

"It is becoming more and more challenging to do this job," Ms Sanderson said.

"I love being an accessible member of Parliament, but I've certainly noticed over the last two years in particular it's getting harder and harder to do that."

A similar sentiment was shared by almost every MP who spoke this week.

Among them, police officer-turned-Labor backbencher Mark Folkard, who has had a front row seat to the best and worst of the state for decades and revealed he was dealing with a stalker.

"Everyone's saying let's take the heat down, but what's the driver of the heat? That's the question we've got to be asking," Mr Folkard said.

Risky business

These conversations were sparked by an attack on federal independent MP Helen Haines outside her Victorian electorate office on Monday.

It's not yet clear what motivated 43-year-old Brendan Nugent to allegedly run her down in an incident which has now taken both of her legs.

Investigations were also continuing into John Lawrence Smart, who has been charged with threatening staff at state Labor MP Hannah Beazley's office on Tuesday.

A magistrate said the 56-year-old had been diagnosed with schizophrenia previously.

It's already sparking a conversation about the role of mental ill health in all of this.

And it also comes against the background of 20-year-old Jayson Joseph Michaels being charged in February with planning an attack on public buildings, including Parliament House.

Taken together, they have served as clear reminders for MPs, and those around them, of the risks which come with their jobs.

"This week has been a dark week for democracy in Australia," first-term Liberal MP Adam Hort said.

Democracy and dehumanisation

And yet that is the situation many have found themselves in.

Almost every MP who spoke was grappling with how to balance the risks to them, their staff and their families with the need to spend time with those they represent.

It's a question which goes to the heart of our democracy: how can MPs do their jobs if they aren't accessible to their constituents?

It particularly goes to the heart of the future of our democracy, too, in turbulent times marred by falling trust in institutions.

"There has been a loss of trust, let's face it, and I think that gets worse if we can't engage with people on a day-to-day basis," Opposition Leader Angus Taylor told 102.5 ABC Perth on Friday.

WA Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said she too had noticed a shift, with policy debates becoming more "extreme".

"I'm all for debating policy and facts, but what happens is, in some of these policy debates, people start dehumanising politicians," Ms Saffioti said on Tuesday.

Government minister John Carey, who acknowledged he was a particular target of abuse because of his housing portfolio and because he is openly gay, believes that dehumanisation leads to further escalation.

One antidote to that dehumanisation, some MPs have found, is putting an even greater focus on meeting voters in person.

Social media is no replacement for a face-to-face conversation, which can remind people that politicians are human too.

It means one of the ways to combat the current shift towards more escalation is the very thing being made harder and less safe by that same drift towards escalation.

'Look after yourselves'

There is some good news for WA politicians, though.

The message from the state's top cop is that the threats in the west are not as great as they are elsewhere in the country.

"But that doesn't change how people feel, in their hearts and minds, and the anxiety they feel after an attack," Police Commissioner Col Blanch said on Thursday.

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"So it's really about giving advice and guidance on how to look after yourselves, and what to look out for."

The ABC understands that is the advice MPs have started receiving in briefings.

Commissioner Blanch said he hoped it would help give politicians confidence to keep making themselves available.

"It's important as high-profile people, even as the Police Commissioner, we maintain our presence in our community, we be part of our community," he said.

More security, but no easy fix

That doesn't mean that some things will have to change.

In response to concerns being raised by MPs, even before this week, the government today announced it would fund security upgrades at their personal homes.

A security review of Parliament will also be fast-tracked, in addition to providing politicians with an extra electorate officer.

One Nation's WA leader, Rod Caddies, who said he had been threatened while driving home the day after Dr Haines was attacked, was cautious about going too far down that path.

"[It's] just treating a symptom of a problem that's there. We need to always be looking to treat a cause and not the symptom," Mr Caddies said.

Finding agreement on what those underlying causes are, let alone how to fix them, is far from easy.

But the events of this week have reminded everyone in the political arena that trying to do that is more important than ever.