'I've had to move house': Pocock reveals lengths he has gone to keep family safe

David Pocock has had to move house due to personal safety concerns, the independent ACT senator has revealed.

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After years of enduring threats quietly, the former Wallabies captain told The Canberra Times the heightened security risk to parliamentarians was having an impact on his young family.

Speaking after the vehicle attack against Helen Haines, which left the independent Indi MP with critical injuries and police are investigating as a targeted act of violence, Senator Pocock said he tried not to change the way he lives his day-to-day life where possible.

"I work for Canberrans and I want to be accessible to them," he said. "It's part of the job."

But with a toddler and a new baby on the way, the high-profile senator - who has not let the security concerns prevent him from holding public events with constituents - said precautions had to be taken.

"I've had to move house," he said.

On Wednesday, the former Wallabies captain will make his inaugural address to the National Press Club in Barton, where increased security measures will be in place.

Independent ACT Senator David Pocock says he has had to move house due to personal safety concerns. Picture by Gary Ramage

His speech will cover Australia's changing political landscape and the role of vested interests in voters' "disillusionment with politics as usual", with independents MPs' campaign for a gas export tax to be a focus.

Senator Pocock, who received death threats during the parliamentary debate over the Albanese government's industrial relations laws, said he had put in place extra measures to stay safe on the advice of the Australian Federal Police.

Nonetheless, he is often seen out and about in Canberra at local cafes and exercising on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.

The senator told this masthead that while he tried to maintain a normal lifestyle, safety was a live concern for his wife Emma Pocock, who is pregnant with the couple's second child.

"It's probably something that she thinks about more than me," he said.

It is understood the Pococks have had to change their address in Canberra multiple times due to safety concerns since the second-term independent senator was elected in 2022.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday reiterated his calls to "turn down the heat" of political discourse, while Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said Australia needed to maintain a tradition of a non-violent but "vigorous" debate.

Finance Minister and ACT Labor Senator Katy Gallagher said it was "horrific" that Dr Haines, who is reported to have lost a leg in the attack, had been critically injured while carrying out her parliamentary duties.

Senator Gallagher said the political temperature had become "significantly elevated, much hotter than I have ever experienced in my career".

Senator Pocock said there was "a need to hold ourselves as politicians to a higher standard" and that anonymous commenters on social media who would "never say this stuff to someone's face" were fuelling division.

"You can have a robust debate without calling for people to be stoned and making fun of senators who talk about vaginal prolapses," he said, referring to One Nation's controversial animated video about Tasmanian independent senator Jacqui Lambie.

Independent ACT Senator David Pocock has spoken out against political violence. Picture by Mark Jesser

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson apologised for the clip on Tuesday afternoon, telling News24 she had asked her social media team to edit it to remove the offensive content.

National Press Club members were alerted on Tuesday that Senator Pocock's speech would be a high-security event. Guests will be screened through a metal detector upon entry.

The club's chief executive Maurice Reilly confirmed that the decision was made to upgrade the event's security after the attack on Dr Haines.

"It's horrific and it's got a lot of people thinking about public life," Mr Reilly said.

The club had upgraded its camera system and installed new security doors after the left-wing think tank Get Up disruption One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's speech with a protest banner in June.

Senator Pocock said of Dr Haines: "I just cannot fathom how someone would want to do her harm."

While "any political violence is unacceptable," he said, Dr Haines was "the best of us."

"I often say to people she's the MP I think everyone wishes they had," he told News24.

"[She] is so intelligent, engages deeply in the issues, cares about people and is constantly putting her community first and doing what's best for the people of Indi ... It's tragic to see this sort of thing happening in Australia."

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