Some Victorian MPs have sought a boost in security measures after threats and abuse directed at them prompted concerns about their attendance at pre-polling venues, which are due to open within a month. A meeting between Premier Ben Carroll and Victoria's electoral commissioner covered security arrangements ahead of the 28 November state poll. A dedicated cabinet gathering was convened by the premier to address safety concerns raised with elected members in the wake of an assault on federal MP Helen Haines.
Talks between the government, police, and the electoral commission about strengthening security arrangements at polling venues were described by Premier Ben Carroll as ongoing on Tuesday. Threats against the personal safety of lawmakers, their relatives, staff, and volunteers were disclosed by upwards of twelve state parliamentarians drawn from parties across the political divide.
A number of those surveyed pressed for stronger protective measures, urging both the state parliament and the Victorian Electoral Commission to take greater responsibility for their safety, while pointing to the prevailing tone of public discourse as a factor discouraging civic participation. Many MPs indicated that online platforms had contributed to a rise in abusive and harassing behaviour directed at them, with a portion choosing to leave parliament or weighing up whether to do so.
A number of MPs reported that hostility directed at them and their staff had grown over time, pointing to pandemic-era protests outside parliament where demonstrators staged a mock execution involving an effigy of Daniel Andrews, who was premier at the time. During demonstrations against pandemic-related legislation at Victoria's parliament in November 2021, a noose was among the items carried by those in attendance.
In her role as premier, Jacinda Allan brought a threat against a parliamentarian's life to public attention, and at an August news conference where she disclosed her plan to leave office, she told reporters that the conditions underpinning civic life had seldom felt as fragile as they did at that moment. A billboard posted in Melbourne earlier this year, which took aim at then-premier Jacinta Allan, drew objections from various quarters.
Campaigning for the Victorian election was put on hold Tuesday as a mark of respect for Ms Haines, a pause that led Mr Carroll to contact state leaders, among them Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, urging that party volunteers of every affiliation be treated with civility and that mutual respect remain the guiding principle for those in leadership roles. Party guidance directed volunteers to move in pairs at the least, with bigger groups considered preferable, while remaining alert to any security-related concerns along the way.
According to multiple sources, the concern was voiced by both backbench MPs and ministers during gatherings of cabinet and the Labor caucus on more than one occasion. Members of parliament from opposition benches put forward calls for tighter security arrangements. Some elected officials chose not to visit early-voting sites, which open roughly ten days before Victoria's November polling date.
Purcell, who holds an upper house seat for the Animal Justice Party, noted that women with a public profile face a heightened version of this pressure, adding that such visibility tends to reshape how a person navigates daily life. Speaking to a prominent television outlet, she described routinely weighing her personal safety before travelling anywhere, a calculation she said male colleagues in politics rarely face to the same degree. Purcell, who is in a relationship with federal Labor MP Josh Burns, argued that Victorian MPs ought to have access to the same security measures available to their federal parliamentary colleagues.
A member of parliament raised the issue of unequal security arrangements, arguing that those who benefit from a personal protection detail should not be the ones making safety decisions on behalf of colleagues who go without it.
A Victorian Electoral Commission spokesperson outlined safe elections as the body's foremost concern, stating that political violence had no place in democratic processes. Broadcaster Tracee Hutchison described facing gender-based hostility during her run as an independent in the May Nepean by-election, telling a television programme on Tuesday that ongoing verbal abuse, online harassment, and the defacing of her campaign materials had factored into her decision not to stand again in Nepean come November.
Parties and candidates noted a change in the electoral atmosphere at the 2022 state election, held not long after pandemic-related movement restrictions had been lifted, with one source stating that constituents had felt exposed to harm during that period. In a submission lodged with the parliamentary review into the conduct of the election, Narre Warren South MP Gary Maas conveyed that those present had not felt secure.
Roose, who researches extremism at Deakin University, noted that threats directed at politicians and their offices had been climbing since the pandemic took hold, attributing much of that pattern to a broader erosion of public confidence in government. A divided environment, he noted, creates opportunities for multiple forms of gain — online traffic and advertising revenue on the financial side, alongside advantages that accrue in the political arena.
Across regional communities, the pressures of household affordability, living costs, and fuel prices have created a charged atmosphere that various political parties are drawing on for electoral advantage. Dr Roose conveyed that a sense of public anger had taken hold.
Areas outside major cities — where access to services tends to be thinner — were identified as facing a heightened exposure to radicalisation, he noted, pointing to a pattern between that geographic disadvantage and the risk. People holding sovereign citizen views — a position centred on the belief that legislatures lack the authority to create binding law — have attended events involving MPs and drawn the attention of authorities tracking potential disruptions.
Nationals MP Tim McCurdy, representing the Ovens Valley electorate, told a broadcaster that the protection of parliamentarians — women among them — warranted attention, adding that constituents had raised the question of enhanced security measures with him, though he drew a distinction between meaningful protection and simply assigning bodyguards to accompany elected members. He noted that the ability to move through communities and carry out daily responsibilities remained a necessity, pointing to the victim as an example of someone doing exactly that — walking along a street in the course of her work.
Victorian Parliament logged 48 security-related incidents across the period from June 2025 to April 2026, a figure that came in below the tally recorded during the preceding twelve months. At state electorate offices, recorded security incidents climbed to a total of 303 across that same timeframe.
