Emergency services have descended on the electorate office of West Australian Premier Mark McGowan after a suspicious object was thrown inside, just days before the state election.
A police spokesman confirmed officers were responding to an incident at the Labor leader’s Rockingham office on Tuesday afternoon, which prompted an evacuation.
Mr McGowan was at the ABC studios in East Perth and told the broadcaster an item wrapped in aluminium foil was “thrown under the window at the front of the office at the staff … People sometimes act a bit strangely, so you’ve just got to be careful for thatâ€.
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The Railway Terrace office and surrounding businesses were cordoned off, and staff sat outside on chairs as fire crews, police and officers from the ChemCentre’s Hazmat team assessed the scene. Paramedics also stood by.
Seven News said a staff member was complained of a sore throat after the incident, while Nine News reported the Premier was the subject of a death threat at Hillarys on Monday.
The state election this Saturday follows a presidential-style campaign heavily featuring the hugely popular NSW-born 53-year-old, who lives in his electorate with his wife Sarah and three children, and has been widely praised for his handling of the pandemic.
Newly minted Liberal leader Zak Kirkup tweeted: “Any attempted violence or threats like this towards the Premier, his office or any political candidate is abhorrentâ€.
“The beauty of our democracy is that elections are peaceful – this is a dangerous trend we are seeing worldwide and I condemn it wholeheartedly.â€
Mr Kirkup has conceded his party cannot win as Labor sails into a second term.