Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said security at City Hall had been increased after members of his staff were threatened. Employees have received de-escalation training.
“The United States has a long history of political violence. There’s been attempted assassinations or actual assassinations. We do not want to become like the United States,” Schrinner said. “There’s been multiple people who have threatened to shoot me as well, and one of them had a gun licence.”
The move follows a rise in aggression towards elected officials, echoing fears expressed after the recent attack on federal MP Helen Haines. Deputy Mayor Fiona Cunningham’s Coorparoo ward office was also targeted, with its window shattered two days before the 2024 election, allegedly by ball bearings from a paint gun.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said authorities were battling a record wave of threats against MPs, driven by a toxic mix of personal grievances, online conspiracies, mental health vulnerabilities and extremist ideologies.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has refused to be drawn on whether the state should strengthen laws against violent speech directed at politicians. Facing journalists at the Queensland Media Club, Crisafulli was asked about a recent incident at the 2026 Australian Conservative Political Action Conference where chair Warren Mundine joked about murdering Energy Minister Chris Bowen.
Crisafulli said the time for debating what led to the attack on Haines would come later, and insisted the focus should remain on her recovery. “Right now, you can only imagine the trauma that they’re all going through because life’s never going to be the same,” he said. The Premier said he disliked personal attacks in politics and believed most politicians shared those values.