SA MP recounts 'non-stop' messages and being followed to her car

SA MPs Lucy Hood and Ella Shaw targeted by same stalker in separate incidents In short: Two female South Australian politicians say they have experienced "unwanted" behaviour from a man who has been cautioned by police for stalking. Lucy Hood and Ella Shaw say they are frustrated by their experiences but have vowed to continue appearing publicly in their local communities. What's next? SA Police will hold a briefing session with all MPs to update them on security issues, arrangements and precautions. Two female South Australian MPs have shared their "frustration" at being targeted by the same stalker — including an incident where one of them was followed back to her car — ahead of a security briefing prompted by the alleged attack on Victorian MP Helen Haines. SA Police said yesterday a 44-year-old northern suburbs man had been issued with stalking cautions for separate incidents involving two MPs which occurred "at different locations". Education Minister Lucy Hood and Member for Elizabeth, Ella Shaw, spoke out today "to end speculation" on whom the police report was referring to. Ms Shaw said the man initially made contact with her online and messaged her "non-stop" over a period of about six months, beginning before she won her seat at this year's state election. She said she was at a local community event when she was followed back to her car. "It was just unwanted behaviour," she said. "Luckily my family were waiting by my car … and we managed to head off together." She said she felt safe in her job, but the escalation to in-person behaviour had been concerning. "We receive abusive comments online regularly, but when we are receiving inappropriate, unwanted commentary in our messages that's a disconnect with it being on the screen," she said. "When it comes to an in-person thing, that's where the behaviour became completely unwanted. You can ignore a DM [direct message], when it's in person, it's a different story." Similarly, Ms Hood, who was first elected in 2022, said her experiences with the man began about three years ago. "I was quite devastated, when I learned from Ella that she had experienced the same behaviour from the individual, I was hoping it was an isolated case in my instance," Ms Hood said. She said an occasion where police had become involved occurred while she was hosting a community event. She said the behaviour was not aggressive, but she was concerned because her children were present. "It can be concerning, you can feel unsafe when you see someone rock up to the place that you have advertised your location, or follow you or persistently rock up at the location that you've advertised yourself at," she said. In the wake of the alleged attack on Victorian MP Helen Haines, Ms Hood said there was heightened unease. "My concern is that that level of discourse that we see online is spilling over the keyboard, into real life and then it's almost giving permission for people to use that abhorrent behaviour and language and the way they speak to people and do it in person, to their face," she said. "That is very concerning. "We should be a country that can disagree agreeably, have different points of view, and feel safe being able to have those conversations and arguments and sometimes agree to disagree." Both MPs said they were "frustrated" about their experiences, but felt supported by SA Police and vowed to continue appearing publicly in their communities to show young people considering a career in politics they should not be deterred. "We think that anybody, regardless of whether you are a younger person, an older person, a male or a female should feel safe in their workplace and safe going about their work," Ms Hood said. Police briefing with MPs Police said they issued the cautions on Tuesday, adding that any individual can be formally charged with stalking "if they breach the conditions of the stalking caution". In a separate statement, SA Police said the security of parliamentarians was "under constant review and assessment", with more than a dozen incidents investigated this year. "These security arrangements are continually adjusted as necessary based on the latest intelligence to ensure appropriate measures are in place," the statement said. "So far this year police have investigated 18 incidents including threats against SA MPs, harassment and/or threats against electorate office staff and vandalism. "Last year 11 such investigations were conducted." SA Police will conduct a briefing session with all MPs tomorrow "to update them on security issues, arrangements, and precautions" in the wake of the incident involving Ms Haines. "While the incident involving Dr Haines appears to be isolated, the briefing for MPs will include the latest threat assessments and steps they can initiate to enhance their personal safety," police said.