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Vandals have smashed windows and set fire to the front of federal Labor MP Josh Burns’ Melbourne electoral office, in what he has called a “politically motivated attack”.
The background: The member for Macnamara, who is Jewish, has been targeted in the past by vandals who defaced his election posters.
The key quotes: In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Burns said his St Kilda office was damaged in a “politically motivated attack”.
Victoria Police officers investigating the fire and criminal damage at Federal Labor MP Josh Burns’ electoral office on Wednesday. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett
Former Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg said on X the attack was “despicable and dangerous” while independent MP Monique Ryan said it amounted to anti-semitism.
What else to know: At least five people were seen near the office on Barkly Street, St Kilda about 3.20am on Wednesday, police were told.
The group smashed windows and graffitied the walls in red paint with slogans that read: ‘Zionism is fascism’.
What happens next: Police are investigating the circumstances and have shut down Barkly Street in both directions.
The attack is a distressing escalation that needs to be dialled back down, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“How people think that they advance their cause through activities like this is beyond me. It does nothing. It undermines the cause that people purport to represent.”