Red paint, smashed windows: Wong condemns ‘violent’ protests over Gaza (2024)

The Australian Federal Police has warned that security threats to members of parliament are on the rise after senior Labor ministers had their offices vandalised in an escalation of protests over the war in Gaza.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong condemned the protests as violent and unacceptable and accused the Greens of being complicit after pro-Palestine activists threw red paint across MPs’ electorate offices and smashed windows of the United States consulate in Melbourne early on Friday morning.

Wong cited safety concerns for workers inside the office buildings as she demanded Greens leader Adam Bandt censure the protesters. “I understand, and I share the depth of concern, the depth of feeling, that Australians have about what is occurring in Gaza and what is occurring in Rafah,” she said on Friday morning.

“But the depth of the feelings that people have does not justify, in this country, a resort to violent protests and Adam Bandt should act as a leader and make that clear.”

The minor party denied any involvement in organising Friday’s protests. “There is a deep level of disappointment and frustration in the community over Labor’s continued backing of the invasion,” Bandt said.

“The Greens support peaceful protest and agree with the calls from today’s protest organisers that any action shouldn’t involve breakage or property damage.”

Protesters on Thursday said they were interested in picketing and handing out flyers – not breakage or property damage – as they called a national day of action after dozens of Palestinians were killed when an Israeli airstrike set fire to a camp in Rafah.

But early on Friday morning, vandals broke multiple windows at the US consulate on St Kilda Road. They used graffiti to paint protest slogans, including “glory to the martyrs” and “free Gaza”.

Electorate offices of Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten were also vandalised in a coordinated action that began about 4am, before planned protests throughout the day.

Shorten’s electorate office in Moonee Ponds was closed and staff were directed to work from home after the building was covered in red paint. Shorten said the vandalism was “counterproductive” and “unfair on innocent businesses whose signage has been defaced”.

In Melbourne, the offices of Fraser MP Daniel Mulino, Wills MP Peter Khalil and Cooper MP Ged Kearney were targeted, along with the state electorate office of Northcote MP Kat Theophanous. Fake corpses were placed outside Giles’ and Kearney’s offices for a second time after a similar demonstration in November.

Khalil told Melbourne radio station 3AW that about 40 protesters had gathered outside his office and plastered stickers across his building. Police were called after the protesters started banging on building windows and preventing staff from entering.

Other offices targeted included those of Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters, Moreton MP Graham Perrett and Solomon MP Luke Gosling.

The Australian Federal Police told a Senate estimates hearing on Friday afternoon that there had been a 35 per cent year-on-year increase in significant security threats to parliamentarians, which required extra resources.

“Threats against parliamentarians are a threat to democracy, and we are starting to plan our response given a federal election will be held within a year,” AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw said.

‘Strong statements’

Protest organiser Caroline Da Silva said the protests would continue until the Australian government ended its complicity with Israel’s attacks on civilians. She said federal Labor’s failure to support a Greens motion recognising Palestine as a state had compelled their escalation.

Wong defended her government’s position on Friday, saying she and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had made “very strong statements” on behalf of Australia.

“We have said to Israel: do not go down this path. We have taken diplomatic efforts in the United Nations and bilaterally to pressure Israel to not go down this path and to continue to put pressure on Israel to ensure it does comply with international humanitarian law. Civilians should be protected,” she said.

“But the depth of the feelings that people have does not justify, in this country, a resort to violent protest.”

Pressed on whether Friday’s protests were violent, Wong said: “I think if you speak to many workers who are being confronted with … the occupation of offices and the destruction of property, I think people have felt unsafe, and I think all workers have a right to feel safe.”

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Nathalie Farah, from the activist group Disrupt Wars, said she still believed the protests were peaceful. “The autonomous groups that took action, painting and graffitiing and smashing windows, were expressing their disgust and outrage after eight months of inaction,” she said.

“I can’t comment on whether we condone these actions or not. But we stand by that everything we’re doing is for peace. No one was hurt, and at worst, this is property damage.”

Victoria Police said all the incidents of office vandalism would be thoroughly investigated.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health officials, since Israel began its large-scale offensive in Gaza. Its war is in response to the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, when around 1200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

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