The safety of senior politicians has again been brought into question after the Prime Minister became the latest figure to be verbally bombarded during the election campaign.
Alt-right groups Melbourne Freedom Rally and Tactical Force Combatives have taken credit for footage showing Anthony Albanese being ambushed by two men in a Melbourne hotel lobby on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese was speaking to his media staffer Fiona Sugden at the Grand Hyatt Hotel when he was approached by a man filming on his phone.
‘Mr Albanese, I have a question for you,’ he began.
‘There are hundreds of thousands of Australians around the country, who are unable to afford housing … when are you going to put Australians first?’
A stunned Mr Albanese didn’t reply.
Ms Sugden can be heard asking for the man’s name as a member from the prime minister’s security entourage steps in to end the exchange.
‘Okay mate, that’s enough, thank you,’ he tells the man.
Anthony Albanese looked stunned as he was confronted in a hotel lobby on Tuesday
The PM’s staffer Fiona Sugden quickly stepped in after he was bombarded with questions
A second video shared showed Mr Albanese being confronted by another man.
‘Albo! How do you feel about the rise in immigration, mate? Do you think it’s fair?’ the man asked as security again stepped in.
The man replied: ‘I’m not touching anyone. I’m not touching anyone.’
‘I have questions. I vote!’
‘That’s right and you’re also not approaching the Prime Minister,’ a member of the security team told him as he was escorted from the hotel.
Ms Sudgen added: ‘Unfortunately, you’re not staying here, so you can leave.’
It’s unclear how the pair managed to slip past security or approach the prime minister in the hotel lobby.
Melbourne Freedom Rally, protesters who have previously held out-of-control anti-vaccination demonstrations, laid claim to the first video.
Both men were escorted from the hotel by the Prime Minister’s security entourage
Meanwhile, Tactical Force Combatives – owned by Daniel Jones, who has worked as a bodyguard to far-right figure Avi Yemeni – has taken credit for the second.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Albanese’s office and Australian Federal Police for comment on Tuesday night.
A Labor source told The Age the incidents are a concern and highlighted the growing risk of extremism around politics.
The ambush from the men is the latest in a string of headlines about threats to politicians’ security as they travel across the country in lead up to the May 3 election.
Dozens of activists dressed in black yelled racist slogans outside Coalition Senator James Paterson’s office in South Melbourne on Sunday.
Last week, it was also revealed Peter Dutton was the alleged target of a private school student’s terror plot which reportedly involved the use of a drone.
Mr Albanese later revealed that authorities have launched legal proceedings to protect him after a ‘serious incident’.
The AFP had issued a sobering warning about concerns for politicians’ safety only a few weeks before.
‘The number of reports of threats to high office holders, federal parliamentarians, dignitaries and electorate offices continue to grow,’ Commissioner Reece Kershaw told the Senate on March 27.
Peter Dutton (pictured) was the alleged target of a terror plot which involved the use of a drone
Citing data from the last few years, he revealed reports of threats to politicians had doubled from 555 in 2021-22,to 1009 in 2023-24.
‘In Australia, we are recording an increase in issue-motivated extremism, and offenders who are quickly willing to use violence to further their cause.’
Commissioner Kershaw said AFP had developed election-specific protected security advice with this in mind.
