Anthony Albanese was evacuated from his official Canberra residence on Tuesday night as police responded to a bomb threat, in circumstances a senior minister called “extraordinary” and potentially unprecedented.
The prime minister was moved from The Lodge to another location at about 6pm while an investigation was carried out. He was able to return after 9pm once a search had been completed.
An Australian federal police spokesperson said they were alerted to an alleged security incident at the property, near Parliament House.
Guardian Australia was told it involved the threat of an explosive.
“A thorough search of a protection establishment was undertaken and nothing suspicious was located,” a statement said. “There is no current threat to the community or public safety.”
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The AFP said early Wednesday morning there were no updates on the incident and Albanese’s office referred enquiries to the AFP.
“We trust the AFP to do their jobs and thank them for their work,” a spokesperson for the prime minister said.
On Wednesday morning, there were a small number of AFP vehicles outside the Lodge, along with a number of journalists, but no other visible signs of the Tuesday night incident.
Albanese was scheduled to make a speech at an infrastructure forum in Victoria on Wednesday.
Finance minister Katy Gallagher, one of Albanese’s trusted inner circle, confirmed on the ABC that a “security incident” at the Lodge had required Albanese to leave for several hours and for a police search to be conducted, but that he was allowed to return later in the evening.
“Very troubling circumstances. From our point of view, and [as] the prime minister has been saying months, we need to take temperature down,” Gallagher told ABC TV on Wednesday morning.
“We’ve seen in other countries there is political violence and threats against politicians, but here in Australia, we’re lucky able to get around and mix with the community and operate safely. But this is just another reminder that there are threats out there and where there are threats, the police will take them seriously.”
Gallagher called the events of Tuesday night “extraordinary” and said she was not aware of a similar security threat having forced a prime minister to evacuate the Lodge before.
She said the events were a moment to reflect on the need for Australians to “peacefully make your point” rather than opt for violent threats.
“I can say that certainly, in my time in politics, I haven’t experienced some of the turbulence and some of the push against politicians at the moment. I think certainly the online world is alive and flourishing,” she said.
“This happens not just to government members, it’s across the parliament, where some politicians are subjected to just unbelievable threats against their safety. We are well-supported by the police. But it is troubling and I think for all of us, everybody has the right to work and be safe, and that’s no different for politicians.”
“There are ways to disagree with people without sending death threats [or threats of] other violence that they want to perpetrate against another individual.”
In a post on social media, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said he was pleased to hear Albanese was safe after the threat.
“Threats against any parliamentarian are utterly abhorrent, especially in a country built on expressing our differences through debate,” he wrote on X.
Albanese and other federal MPs have faced a number of security threats in recent months. The prime minister has had a more visible than usual security presence at recent events.
In October last year, the AFP commissioner, Krissy Barrett, announced the establishment of new national security investigations teams to deal with threats, including the targeting of federal politicians. Earlier this month, she told a Senate committee that politicians, other office holders and members of Australia’s Jewish community were being targeted by violent offenders.
More than 20 people have already been charged since late last year in relation to those threats, Barrett said.
“We are witnessing the continued rise of individual grievance, including those who are willing to make threats in the online world and then carry them out in the real world,” Barrett told a Senate estimates committee.