Victorian Liberal MP David Southwick has accused extremists of “hijacking” Melbourne’s streets after fresh graffiti targeting him appeared on the forecourt of Parliament House of Victoria.
The latest incident involved offensive slogans scrawled on the floor outside Parliament, including messages such as “Fuck David”, “David is a shit name”, “David has a small ego”, and “zios fuck”.
Southwick said the vandalism reflected a broader pattern of extremist behaviour and again called on Premier Jacinta Allan to take stronger action.
In a Facebook post this week, the Member for Caulfield said he was “glad to be living rent free in the minds of the extremists hijacking the streets of Melbourne”, before questioning when the state government would step in.
“Our great city has once again been hijacked by protesters, pulling thousands of officers away from real frontline work,” he wrote.
“Victoria Police do a tremendous job, but they simply don’t have the powers needed to deal effectively with extremists. Ten months until the election. Change is coming.”
The graffiti follows earlier acts of political vandalism. Last year, Southwick discovered a sign on his fence supporting Liberal candidate Benson Saulo in the federal seat of Macnamara had been defaced with the words “Libs = Nazis”, along with a swastika drawn on Saulo’s forehead.
Saulo, who is Indigenous, told Southwick at the time that his campaign material across the electorate had been vandalised in a similar way.
In 2023, antisemitic graffiti on the steps of Parliament House also drew condemnation from Southwick, who described the display as “an affront to every Victorian who values our inclusive, tolerant and multicultural community”.
“The behaviours today by neo-Nazis are a deliberate attempt to incite hatred and violence and are nothing short of sickening,” he posted on X at the time.
Southwick has repeatedly argued that Victoria Police require stronger powers to deal with extremist conduct, saying repeated protests and acts of vandalism are stretching frontline resources across Melbourne.
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