CANBERRA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The head of Australia's national police said on Sunday that there is a direct correlation between inflammatory political discourse and a rise in threats against elected parliamentarians.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television that the language used by politicians has an observable impact on the number and nature of threats.
"It does have a direct correlation to what we see in terms of threats and abuse, and sometimes it's very immediate," she said.
"Words matter, and we do see the flow-on impact from that."
Barrett was speaking after Helen Haines, an independent member of the federal parliament since 2019, was hit by a vehicle in an alleged deliberate attack outside her office northeast of Melbourne on Monday.
Haines, aged 65, was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital in critical condition and has since had both legs amputated. Her condition was updated on Saturday to serious but stable.
A 43-year-old man was arrested at the scene of the incident and has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a public official.
Barrett said on Sunday that investigators have not yet established a motive for the attack and are looking into his mental health history and political views.
Local media have reported that the man has a history of social media posts about logging and environmentalism and that members of his family are friends with Haines. ■
