Man and teen arrested after One Nation volunteer attacked with baseball bat in Victoria
Police arrested a 37-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy in connection with an alleged assault on a One Nation volunteer in Torquay, while a separate investigation continues into an incident involving a Liberal MP.
Police confirmed on Tuesday that a 37-year-old man from Hampton Park and a 14-year-old boy were arrested following an alleged assault on a One Nation volunteer outside his home on Victoria’s Surf Coast. The incident occurred at a Torquay residence on Scorpio Street at about 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, according to a police spokesperson, who said the victim was struck with a baseball bat and later taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The victim, a 60-year-old man, was visited in hospital by One Nation’s federal leader Pauline Hanson and Victorian deputy leader Colleen Harkin. The Hampton Park man was charged with intentionally causing injury and other assault-related offences and remanded in custody, with a court appearance scheduled for 10 November. The boy received a caution.
"The alleged attack was on a party volunteer and is un-Australian and unacceptable," One Nation’s Victorian leader Warren Pickering said, adding that the incident began when the men interfered with One Nation signs on the property. "Political violence or intimidation of any kind against anyone is unacceptable in this country. If you don’t like someone’s politics, you vote accordingly. You don’t [allegedly] assault them."
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll described the episode as "shocking" and urged for a civil, peaceful election, emphasizing that volunteers of any political affiliation should not be targeted.
The arrests come as police continue a separate inquiry into an October incident involving Liberal MP Georgie Crozier, for which a woman is being sought. Authorities have also noted heightened security concerns among Victorian MPs ahead of the state election on 28 November.