On Monday night, Georgie Purcell shared a statement on social media in support of Helen Haines, who earlier that day had been allegedly attacked by a constituent in her regional Victorian electorate. Purcell, a Victorian upper house MP whose region partly overlaps with Haines’s federal electorate, wrote that the alleged attack had sent chills down her spine. Being a woman in politics, she said, had changed the way she moved through the world – where she parked her car, which route she took home, even whether she held public events at all.
It didn’t take long to receive validation of why her precautions were necessary: a constituent commented on her Haines statement, saying he wished it had happened to Purcell. Another, a little while later, said: “You should be scared.” Purcell reported them both. Beyond that, she says, there is “nothing else she can do” as the threats lack the specificity police require to take further action.
It leaves her on “high alert” with just five weeks until the Victorian election. Nationals MP Annabelle Cleeland, whose electorate of Euroa covers 11,452 square kilometres, says, due to threats, she shares her live location with her husband and staff when on the road. Few Victorians can forget that during the pandemic, an effigy of the then premier, Daniel Andrews, was subjected to a mock execution on the front steps of parliament amid debate over pandemic legislation.
The next day, Andrews said: “There are some people who are threatening me. They’re threatening my family. They are essentially attacking the safety of my family.” It is understood the premier was receiving around-the-clock close personal protection at the time.
During the 2022 election campaign, Andrews’ press conferences were largely kept out of public view. One exception, an event at a Caulfield dog park, drew a man intent on heckling him. In 2023, another man faced court on charges of stalking and harassing Andrews.
When he resigned in 2024, Andrews lost his security but remained as much a public figure. Just recently, images of where he has been living appeared on the front page of a national newspaper. His successor, Jacinta Allan, also faced much hostility, particularly in regional Victoria, where communities opposed the government’s emergency services levy and laws that allow state body VicGrid and its contractors access to private land for transmission projects – without a landholder’s consent.
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