Former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has warned that “it is only a matter of time” before a senior Australian politician is assassinated.
His calls for a review of Australia’s protective security arrangements followed those of former Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo, who reminded politicians the last review was completed 45 years ago.
Ms Andrews highlighted the recent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump during a campaign rally and the killing of former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe in July 2022 as signs of the turbulent state of modern politics.
“I had doubts about the level of security at the time of Shinzo Abe’s assassination. I had some doubts about that when I was a minister,” she said. The Australian.
‘The parliamentarians are very visible and alarm bells are ringing.
‘Given the high number of threats MPs receive on a regular basis, which is often the case, I have previously mentioned the importance of ensuring adequate staffing and protection of the Australian Federal Police, including the AFP.’
Ms Andrews, who served as Home Secretary from March 2021 to May 2022, believes protective security needs to be “constantly reviewed”.
She described the current security status of Australia’s senior ministers as only “adequate”.
Former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews (pictured) has warned it is “only a matter of time” before a senior Australian politician comes under fire following a number of international incidents.
Former US President Donald Trump (center) was injured during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally over the weekend.
Mr Pezzullo called for a thorough review of security and protection measures.
The last comprehensive review was carried out by Judge Robert Hope in 1979 following the 1978 Sydney Hilton bombing, which killed three people.
Fifteen years later, in 1994, New South Wales MP John Newman was shot dead in the driveway of his Cabramatta home in south-west Sydney in a late-night ambush.
Mr Pezzullo said a fresh review was essential to examine the current threat of political violence and assassination in a modern context.
“Parliament, the government building, judges and courts, etcetera… It’s time for a top-down look,” he told Sky News.
‘What I am talking about, as you do, for example, with a white paper on Defence, is looking to the future: the threat of drones at open-air demonstrations, for example, and new attack methodologies.
Is it possible, for example, that going back to the 1970s and 1980s, terrorist groups will begin to obtain the kind of weapons they used, for example, to try to assassinate Margaret Thatcher in 1984 at the Brighton Hotel?
‘Massive amounts of explosives were used.’
Mr Pezzullo noted that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will receive a briefing on the scope of Australia’s national security enhancements, led by Dr Heather Smith and Richard Maude.
He urged Mr Albanese to consider “future casting” for protective security “in the same way we do in defence and intelligence”.
Ms Andrews says she began calling for a review of Australia’s protective security following the assassination of former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe (pictured) in July 2022.
Opposition Home Office spokesman James Paterson has also weighed in on the issue, saying it is vital the AFP is “adequately resourced” and has the “powers necessary to protect our institutions”.
“The last thing we want to do is wake up the morning after a terrible event and wish we had done more,” he said.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil on Monday released the Strengthening Australian Democracy report, which warned that some of the biggest threats to Australian democracy are declining public trust, foreign interference and low levels of social cohesion.
Mr Albanese admitted that the attempted assassination of Mr Trump had him thinking about his own safety as next year’s federal election approaches.
“It is important that democracy is valued,” he told reporters on Monday.
“It is our greatest asset and we must seek unity wherever possible, seeking respectful disagreement.”
