'Alarming': Security threats against MPs on the rise, new data shows

A security expert says security threats against MPs have risen as anger grows in society.

Australian MP Helen Haines is critically wounded and has lost a leg after a vehicle rammed her outside her office, and an anti-logging campaigner is in custody.

Massey University defence and security expert, John Battersby, says violence is never acceptable, but events here and around the world are 'rarking' people up. 

"There is an election campaign on, and I think that people are feeling the issues more now - the cost of living is making people feel a bit more desperate." 

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