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Scott Morrison has denied emboldening anti-vaxxers as federal police move to protect politicians from threats levelled by those opposed to vaccine mandates and heightening government powers.
The Australian Federal Police had to intervene over the weekend because of 'specific threats against different members of parliament'.
Commissioner Reece Kershaw declined to name the politicians or go into the nature of the threats.
'We will be making sure we do as much as we can to keep our parliamentarians safe,' the commissioner told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
Growing protests by those opposed to vaccine mandates and heightening government emergency powers had included some threatening messages and imagery like nooses.
The prime minister was accused of egging on protesters by urging states to drop restrictions for unvaccinated people, and saying he felt 'sympathy' with those who had opposed government overreach in Covid restrictions.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews responded to that by accusing Mr Morrison of pandering to extremists, but the Prime Minister refuted that on Monday.
'The government has not supported the campaigns of anti-vaxxers,' Mr Morrison told federal parliament.
