‘Someone has been following me’: safety fears after bullet inscribed with ‘RAT’ left on Victorian minister’s car

Victoria’s emergency services minister says he fears for his family’s safety after a bullet, etched with the word “RAT” and his old firefighter number, was left on his car on Saturday.

The Herald Sun first reported on Monday that Paul Edbrooke had returned to his car after speaking to members of the community and found the bullet on the bonnet.

He told ABC Radio Melbourne he was “shocked” and “horrified” by the discovery, particularly after the alleged attack on the federal MP Helen Haines last week. There was no suggestion the two incidents were linked

“We enjoy a great democracy in Australia and Victoria,” Edbrooke said. “I love getting out in my community.

“I was out in my community that day. I speak to people all the time, face to face. And then to come back to my car and find that, I was just shocked.

“My kids drive this car, and you start thinking, ‘Am I being followed? Who knows I’m here? Am I being surveilled?’

“And it’s not subtle – that’s a death threat, a bullet with my firefighter ID number on it and the word ‘rat’.”

Edbrooke said his ID number was “very specific to a firefighter” and would not be known by members of the broader community. He said the only people from whom he was receiving “aggressive threats” and abuse on social media were members of the United Firefighters Union.

The union is taking action against Fire Rescue Victoria – an agency Edbrooke oversees – in the Fair Work Commission over the firefighters’ enterprise bargaining agreement. The parties have been unable to resolve the EBA since 2021.

It has also been campaigning against the state’s Labor government, vowing to run an expensive advertising campaign and staff polling booths with firefighters, while authorising material urging voters to put the party last in next month’s poll.

It is also planning to hold a members’ meeting on the question of disaffiliating from the Victorian Labor party altogether.

Speaking about the bullet on Monday, Edbrooke said: “I’m not going to be intimidated by this.”

“You think of your family, you think of other MPs, and, you know, what happened in Wangaratta last week,” he said.

“There’s a great thing about democracy in Australia, and that is we can go to a polling booth, have a snag, talk to people. We can disagree in our politics, but we can have a chat and I’m afraid that with actions like this, we start losing that.

“We start having a reaction where we have to have more security and MPs are less available to public members.”