Sunrise host Natalie Barr has called out Anthony Albanese after he complained about the ‘horrific’ abuse he cops online, saying it weighs on him and adds undue pressure.
Mr Albanese’s frank admission came after Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan unexpectedly stood down from the state’s top job on Monday, citing the job’s ‘relentless pressure’.
In wishing Mr McGowan well, Mr Albanese said the pressures brought about by online ‘trolls and bots’ added more tension to politicians’ roles.
‘I have a look at what people say occasionally – usually I try not to look, but it is quite horrific,’ he told ABC Adelaide.
‘I know during the pandemic there was a need for people in leadership positions to have security because of issues of personal safety … but the things that people say online sometimes are quite astonishing.’
‘It’s quite astonishing what people are prepared to say anonymously. Trolls and bots add a lot of pressure.’
In a segment on Sunrise, Barr suggested Mr Albanese turn of Twitter notifications to avoid the criticism, when speaking with Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neil and Liberal Senator Jane Hume.
On Wednesday morning, Barr said: ‘We know this is a big problem. But a lot of people will be sitting at home saying why does he look, can he just take off a lot of the notifications on Twitter like a lot of people do though.’
O’Neil responded saying: ‘I’m conscious that people hate to hear politicians complain so I’m in two minds about some of this.
‘The thing I want people to understand is how much this problem has changed in the time I’ve been in Parliament.
She said politicians now receive a ‘torrent’ of violent abuse.
‘I guess it’s easy to say not to look at it but the thing I also talk to people about is the fact that this does also reflect what is going on in the real world.
‘We are lucky to live in a country where politicians live pretty normal lives. I go the supermarket and I drop my kids off at school and I often tell my constituents where I’m going to be so they can come and talk to me, and I don’t want that to change.’
‘But what we do see is relatively increasing incidences of real-life harassment and violence and I think that’s really worrying.
Barr asked Senator Hume if arresting trolls for their abuse is the solution to the never ending problem.
‘I hope we don’t get to that stage,’ Hume responded.
Barr spoke with Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neil (left) and Liberal Senator Jane Hume (right) about online bullying. The Sunrise host exchanged heated words with Ms Hume after the senator claimed it is difficult to track down cyber bullies
‘Why not? If they abusing people why are we not arresting them?,’ Barr said.
‘You just have to log in to Twitter to see most of these accounts are in fact anonymous,’ Ms Hume said.
‘The big fear for me is not necessarily what happens to us but more what our families see. The phrase that I hate to hear most is ‘mum, you are trending.’ My kids are late teens, early 20s and they see what is said about me online.
‘I can’t make them switch it off and I think that’s really disturbing… it’s getting more violent and more abusive and very personal too.
‘I just hope we don’t get to a stage were something terrible happens that makes us all stand back and think, why didn’t we do something earlier.’
Barr claimed online bullying is a hot topic at every women’s lunch and panel she attends, with many believing the solution to the abuse is to start punishing the perpetrators.
‘So let’s start arresting them, they are not all anonymous. I got some on my phone and I can see who they are,’ Barr said.
‘They are family people and they seem very normal, that got normal jobs. If I can find them, maybe the police can too.’
‘I think we have to ask real questions about why anonymity is being protected in this way and a lot of these people are total cowards who just want to say their violent comments are not be held accountable,’ Ms O’Neil said.
Anthony Albanese complained about the ‘horrific’ abuse he cops online, saying it weighs on him and adds undue pressure
‘We do get real violent threats on ourselves, our kids and that side of things is really scary. This reflects a decline in civility across the country.
The toll of online abuse has been spotlighted in the last month after ABC presenter Stan Grant stood aside from his responsibilities because of the constant vilification and racism he’d experienced.
Last week, in wishing Grant well, Mr Albanese said there was a need to be ‘really cognisant’ in the lead-up to the Voice to parliament referendum ‘about some of the hurtful comments that have been made’.
‘We can have respect for different views without engaging in vilification, and that’s important,’ he said.
In this month’s budget, the government committed to raising the funding base of the eSafety Commissioner by $132.1m over four years because of a spike in cyberbullying and other forms on online attacks and abuse.
