Constant vigilance is needed in Australia to ensure the events that led to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump don’t take place in Australia, former prime minister Tony Abbott said.
Mr Abbott, who was Liberal leader from 2013 to 2015, said while Australia isn’t suffering from the same divisions evident in US society, people need to be on alert.
“We don’t have a gun culture, we don’t have a history of political violence, we don’t at this point in time, thank God, have the fragmentation and polarisation that sadly exists in America to quite the same extent,” he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
“Can you rule these things out? Of course not.
“I suppose we need constant vigilance, A, to try and ensure there aren’t people who are given the ready opportunities to do harm, and B, that we try always to be our best selves and be the better angels of our natures.”
The attempted assassination of the former president at a political rally in Pennsylvania came just days before Mr Trump formally received the Republican Party’s nomination as its candidate for the 2024 election.
The first day of the convention saw Mr Trump announce Ohio senator JD Vance as his pick for vice-president.
Mr Abbott said the decision to choose the first-term senator as Mr Trump’s running mater was a smart decision.
“He will strengthen the Republican ticket. And I think if he becomes the vice president, has the potential to do an outstanding job,” he said.
“(Vance) has said some things on Ukraine, which I would respectfully disagree with. I can’t believe that Donald Trump would want to begin his presidency by handing a victory to the Russian dictator.”
Mr Vance had previously spoken out against US funds being used for the war effort in Ukraine against Russia.
It comes as former coalition home affairs minister Karen Andrews warned it was only a matter of time before an assassination attempt was made on an Australian politician.
“Parliamentarians are very visible and alarm bells are ringing,” she told News Corp.
Ms Andrews called for constant security reviews for politicians to ensure their safety.
This post was originally published on Michael West.