‘Been there’: Pauline Hanson backs Anthony Albanese following evacuation from The Lodge after security incident

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has issued a statement of support to Anthony Albanese after the Prime Minister was evacuated from The Lodge due to a security incident.

In a video posted to her official X (formerly Twitter) account, Ms Hanson said she was “shocked” to hear news of Mr Albanese’s evacuation from the Canberra residence on Tuesday night.

The alarm was raised about 6pm that night, prompting Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers to commence a search of the property.

“Nothing suspicious was located,” an AFP spokesman said.

“There is no current threat to the community or public safety.

In a post accompanying her video on X, Ms Hanson said she had “been in his shoes”, requiring “24/7” police protection” for herself and her family due to threats she had previously received over 1997-98.

“Unfortunately with the frustration many people are feeling a few nutters are resorting to these threats,” Ms Hanson wrote on Wednesday.

“Violence is not the answer - we have to have free speech, free debate and make our choice felt at the ballot box. Otherwise we’re no better as a country than the violence towards elected officials in other countries.”

Ms Hanson said she felt for Mr Albanese and his family “to have to go through that”.

“My children had to be evacuated from school one time because of a threat against them,” she said in the video.

Ms Hanson went on to lament the state of Australian politics and the state of political violence.

“I sort of think: ‘This is Australia, not the Middle East’,” she continued.

“Politicians are there for the right reasons. We may not like (the) policies, you may not like mine, you may not like the Prime Minister’s and the way the country’s headed.

“But you don’t do it with violence. Not against members of parliament.”

Earlier, Mr Albanese thanked the AFP for their “ongoing work and professionalism” in his first statement since being forced out of The Lodge due to a security incident.

He took to social media to break his silence by posting a photo of his beloved cavoodle Toto.

“Toto on alert but all good. Thanks to AFP for your ongoing work and professionalism and to people who sent kind messages of care and support,” Mr Albanese wrote.

The incident has since been linked to opposition to upcoming performances of the Chinese group Shen Yun.

A spokesperson for Falun Dafa – a group associated with Shen Yun - told The Guardian one of their colleagues had received two threats in Chinese in recent weeks threatening harm against the Prime Minister if the performances went ahead.

With the second received this week, the threats are reported to have triggered the lockdown.

Shen Yun is banned in China and will begin its Australia tour in the Gold Coast on Wednesday.

It is associated with the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is also banned in China and is an outspoken critic of the regime.

Jokingly asked during a speech in Melbourne whether Mr Albanese could “dispel the myth that the safety threat was Karl Stefanovic lingering too long in The Lodge after his podcast”, the Prime Minister said: “I can do that.

“I think it’s just a reminder, take every opportunity to tell people, turn the heat down for goodness sake. Like, you know, we can’t take these things for granted. Turn it down.”

Earlier, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher conceded she could not recall the last time an Australian prime minister was forced to evacuate their home, describing it as “very troubling circumstances”.

“It’s difficult, but we are well looked after by police … but it would be good if we saw the temperature taken down … last night’s incident just says to everybody, (these are) some of the circumstances that politicians are operating in now,” she told the ABC.

An AFP spokesperson confirmed to NewsWire a police operation had taken place at The Lodge on Tuesday but did not confirm the nature of the threat.

Earlier that day, Mr Albanese had several media engagements, including filming a live interview with Nine journalist Karl Stefanovic at The Lodge.

Greens senator Nick McKim told the ABC Australia was “generally” a safe place for public figures in comparison to other places in the world.

“I’m just glad the (Prime Minister), his family, all of his staff, are safe, and I’m sure the police handled it appropriately,” he said on Wednesday.

Senator McKim added: But certainly we just need to be to be careful and make sure that we try to keep our political debate and our political discussion on civil terms, and I think that’s something that we’ve all got a role to play.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor also weighed into the incident, welcoming the news of Mr Albanese’s safe return to The Lodge.

“Threats against any parliamentarian are utterly abhorrent, especially in a country built on expressing our differences through debate,” Mr Taylor said in an online statement on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett warned that politicians and high-office holders were being increasingly targeted.

“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,” Ms Barrett told a Senate estimates committee.

“Some of these offenders are not seeking or needing a partner in crime or a network to carry out threats or violence – this personalised grievance is often connected to world events, their own sense of injustice or a fixation on people or weapons.”

In 2023-24, the AFP received more that 1000 reports of incidents involving harassment, nuisance, offensive and threatening communications directed towards federal parliamentarians.

It was a 42 per cent increase in matters reported during the same period the previous year.