Man charged after alleged baseball bat assault on One Nation volunteer in Victoria
A 37-year-old man was remanded in custody and a 14-year-old boy received a caution following an incident outside a volunteer's home in Torquay.
By Kofi Greco ·
An alleged baseball bat assault on a volunteer for Australia's right-wing populist One Nation party has led to the arrest of a man and a teenage boy in Victoria. The incident occurred outside the volunteer's home during the state's election campaign and drew condemnation from political leaders.
Police arrested the 37-year-old man and the 14-year-old boy on Sunday night following the incident in Torquay, approximately 100km, or 62 miles, south-west of Melbourne. The volunteer was taken to hospital with injuries that police described as not life threatening.
The man was charged with assault offences and remanded in custody, while the boy received a caution. One Nation's Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, claimed the alleged assault followed interference with election signs at the volunteer's property. He said the pair had "interfered with" the signs before the attack.
Pickering condemned the alleged assault as "un-Australian and unacceptable" and said political disagreements should be expressed through voting. "Political violence or intimidation of any kind against anyone is unacceptable in this country," he said. "If you don't like someone's politics, you vote accordingly. You don't assault them."
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll also condemned the attack, describing it as "shocking". His response focused on the volunteers taking part in political campaigns, saying they should not face attacks regardless of which party they support or the colour of the T-shirts they wear.
"Whether you're wearing a red, a blue, an orange, or a green T-shirt, they are volunteers," Carroll said. "They are out there doing what they believe is right, and no one should be coming under attack." His comments addressed the protection of volunteers across political affiliations.
The Torquay incident comes as Victoria holds its state election campaign and Australia confronts broader concerns about the tone of political debate. Those concerns follow an attack last month on federal MP Helen Haines, whose injuries required both of her legs to be amputated.
Police have not detailed a motive for the attack on Haines. Politicians, law enforcement and experts have nevertheless warned that heated public discourse is increasing the threat of political violence in Australia, forming the wider backdrop to the alleged assault in Torquay.
Source: BBC News
