Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday rejected suggestions he was setting a "dangerous precedent" by vacating his Sydney electorate office after repeated pro-Palestine protests, saying the demonstrations had disrupted church services and denied local residents access to federal support services.
Speaking on the Sunrise program with hosts Nat Barr and Matt "Shirvo" Shirvington, Albanese said the decision to leave the office followed the church that shared the space ending its lease. "What absolute nonsense, seriously," he said when asked whether abandoning the office set a dangerous precedent. "This is an office that is actually shared with St Clements Church. The car park is a shared car park."
Albanese told viewers the protests had affected more than his own work. "The people attending, trying to attend church services have been disrupted as well as people haven't been able to get the services that they need," he said. He cited examples including difficulty accessing support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Centrelink and Medicare, saying such disruptions "don't advance any cause in the Middle East. All it does is disrupt people and alienate people from the cause that the protesters are purporting to support."
The prime minister acknowledged the right to protest but said regular, nationwide demonstrations from both sides should not become "Australia's new normal." "We appreciate everyone's right to protest, but they're happening around the country every week from both sides," he said. "What this does is undermine the cause that people purport to represent. There's no impact on the Middle East from stopping a local resident getting support on Social Security or the NDIS or Medicare or migration."
Albanese told the program he intended to open a new electorate office soon. Shirvington noted protesters had signalled they would follow him wherever he opened a new office; Albanese responded that the demonstrators were undermining their own cause. "They undermine their own cause," he said.
The interview followed weeks of demonstrations outside the Sydney electorate office that Albanese had used, with protesters regularly gathering to press their positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The church that shared the site has ended its lease, prompting Albanese to relocate while critics argued the move risked encouraging further pressure on public officials.
Albanese's remarks on Sunrise reiterated his broader message that while peaceful protest is an accepted part of Australian democracy, actions that block access to essential services or disrupt unrelated community activities risk alienating the wider community and do not influence international outcomes. The program aired on September 15, 2025.