Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called on the media and politicians to “turn down the temperature” of debate after allegedly receiving a death threat from an aboriginal man in Queensland.
Norman Dean Lake, 52, was arrested in Newport, north of Brisbane, on Saturday and charged with one count of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The Australian Federal Police will allege the threat was made on Facebook and was aimed at Mr Albanese.
Mr Lake’s matter was heard in Brisbane Magistrates Court where Magistrate Luke Ross told Lake’s Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Legal Service duty lawyer it was his “chance at notoriety” and remanded the accused in custody, The Courier Mail reported.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has responded to recent death threats against him, saying we need to turn down the temperature on dangerous rhetoric.
He says Australia has a vibrant democracy and that he’s not trying to stifle free speech, but the rise in threats is becoming… pic.twitter.com/A6Ssdl56S2
— Australians vs. The Agenda (@ausvstheagenda) October 6, 2025
The Prime Minister addressed the issue while speaking in Canberra on Monday where he said he could not comment on Mr Lake’s case but claimed that the level of threats meant he had been forced to change the way he interacts with the public.
“These threats are real. We have seen in other countries, the United States, in the United Kingdom, we have seen public figures targeted,” Mr Albanese said.
“I have consistently said we need to, wherever possible, turn down the temperature of debate, and to agree and disagree respectfully as much as is possible. We have a vibrant democracy here. No one is trying to stifle free speech. But the level of threats which have been made have been elevated substantially.
“For everyone, including in the media, politicians all have a responsibility as well. Turn down the temperature is really what we need to do.”
Mr Albanese made the comments after signing a landmark defence Treaty with Papua New Guinea that he said could “certainly, over a period of time” see 10,000 PNG soldiers join the ADF, meaning they would be required to become citizens.
Header image: Anthony Albanese at the UN Climate Summit 2025 in September (PMO).
