Australia’s top federal law enforcement official has drawn a direct link between politicians’ rhetoric and threats and abuse being directed at leaders.

The safety of elected representatives at all levels has been thrown into the spotlight after independent MP Helen Haines was allegedly deliberate attacked outside her Wangaratta electoral office.

Haines remains in a serious but stable condition at the Alfred hospital in Melbourne, following her double leg amputation.

The Australian federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said there was no doubt the threat environment had changed for politicians.

“When I start work every morning, one of the first things I do is read a report … [that] summarises all of the threats that have been reported to the AFP over the last 24 hours,” she told the ABC’s Insiders program.

“Now, some days that report is pages and pages long.”

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The commissioner said she wasn’t interested in policing free speech or intervening in…