Sunrise host Nat Barr calls out Anthony Albanese

Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr has called out Anthony Albanese after complaining about the “horrific” abuse he denounces online.

Mr Albanese’s candid admission came after Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan unexpectedly resigned from the state’s top job on Monday, citing the job’s “relentless pressure”.

While wishing Mr McGowan well, Mr Albanese said the pressure caused by online ‘trolls and bots’ added tension to politicians’ roles.

“I occasionally watch what people say – usually I try not to look, but it’s pretty horrifying,” he told ABC Adelaide.

“I know during the pandemic there was a need for people in leadership positions to have security because of personal safety issues…but the things people sometimes say online are pretty amazing.”

“It’s pretty amazing what people want to say anonymously. Trolls and bots create a lot of pressure.’

In a segment on Sunrise, Barr suggested to Mr. Albanese that he turn off Twitter notifications to avoid the criticism when he spoke with Home Secretary Claire O’Neil and Liberal Senator Jane Hume.

On Wednesday morning, Barr said, “We know this is a big deal. But a lot of people will sit at home and say why he’s watching, can he just delete a lot of notifications on Twitter, like a lot of people do.”

O’Neil responded by saying, “I’m aware that people hate to hear politicians complain, so I’m doubtful about this.

What I want people to understand is how much this issue has changed in my time in parliament.

She said politicians are now receiving a “deluge” of violent abuse.

“I think it’s easy to say don’t look at it, but what I also talk to people about is the fact that this also reflects what’s happening in the real world.

“We are lucky to live in a country where politicians lead fairly normal lives. I go to the grocery store and I drop my kids off at school and I often tell my constituents where I’m going so they can come and talk to me, and I don’t want to change that.”

“But what we do see is relatively increasing incidents of harassment and violence in real life and I think that’s really concerning.

Barr asked Senator Hume if arresting trolls for their abuse is the solution to the endless problem.

“I hope we don’t reach that stage,” Hume replied.

‘Why not? If they’re abusing people, why don’t we arrest them?” Barr said.

“You just have to log into Twitter to see that most of these accounts are, in fact, anonymous,” Ms Hume said.

“The big fear for me is not necessarily what happens to us, but more what our families see.

The phrase I hate hearing the most is “Mom, you’re trending.” My kids are late teens, early twenties and they see what is being said about me online.

“I can’t force them to turn it off and I find that really disturbing… it gets more violent and abusive and also very personal.

“I just hope we don’t get to a point where something terrible happens that makes us all step back and think, Why didn’t we do something sooner?”

Barr claimed that online bullying is a hot topic at every women’s luncheon and panel she attends, with many believing the solution to the abuse is to punish the perpetrators.

‘So let’s start arresting them, not all of them are anonymous. I have a few on my phone and I can see who they are,” Barr said.

‘They are family people and they seem very normal, who have normal jobs. If I can find them, maybe the police can too.’

“I think we need to ask real questions about why anonymity is protected in this way and many of these people are total cowards who just want to say their violent comments cannot be held accountable,” said Ms O’Neil.

Anthony Albanese lamented the ‘horrific’ abuse he is tackling online, saying it weighs on him and puts unnecessary pressure on him

“We get real violent threats against ourselves, our kids and that side of things is really scary. This reflects a decline in politeness across the country.

The toll of online abuse has been thrown into the spotlight over the past month after ABC host Stan Grant stepped back from his responsibilities over the ongoing slander and racism he had experienced.

Last week, in wishing Grant well, Mr Albanese said it was necessary to “really be aware of some of the hurtful comments that have been made” ahead of the Voice to Parliament referendum.

“We can respect different views without doing any harm, and that’s important,” he said.

In this month’s budget, the government pledged to increase the eSafety Commissioner’s funding base by 2.

1 million over four years due to a spike in cyberbullying and other forms of online attacks and abuse.