Australian MP’s threat against first Muslim woman in parliament sparks row
Liberal MP Angie Bell sparked a racism and misogyny row in Australia’s federal parliament after saying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Small Business Minister Anne Aly should be “shamed and stoned in the square”. The comment came during a debate about a planned tax office ban on credit card payments, but drew particular condemnation because Aly is Australia’s first female Muslim federal MP and said the wording echoed threats she had received.
The Speaker ordered Bell to withdraw the remark, and she did so immediately. Aly said she had received 19 death threats on social media in the past week, including previous threats using the phrase “stone her”, and called Bell’s words racist and misogynistic. Bell later described them as a poor choice of words made in the heat of debate; the tax office policy, which was due to begin in November, has been delayed until June 2027.
- Angie Bell withdrew her remark about Anne Aly and Anthony Albanese.
- Aly said she received 19 death threats in the past week.
- The tax office credit card payment ban was delayed until June 2027.
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Australia’s federal parliament makes national laws and holds the government to account. The Liberal Party is one of the country’s major political parties; Anthony Albanese is prime minister, while Anne Aly is a minister in his government and the first Muslim woman elected to the federal parliament.
Aly’s identity has made the language used about her a particular concern, especially as she has said she received threats using similar words. The dispute has raised wider questions in Australia about racism, misogyny and how politicians speak about one another in parliament.
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The case for
Critics can argue that “stoned in the square” carries a threatening meaning, especially given Anne Aly’s account of receiving similar threats, and that parliamentarians have a heightened duty to avoid language that can intimidate colleagues or echo abuse aimed at them. The Speaker’s intervention and Bell’s withdrawal do not erase the impact, and describing the remark as an angry lapse may not address why it was so alarming in this context.
The case against
Defenders of Bell can argue that her remark was directed at the Prime Minister and minister over a disputed tax policy, rather than being a literal threat or an attack on Aly’s faith or gender. She withdrew it when ordered and later called it a poor choice of words made in the heat of debate, so critics should distinguish condemnable parliamentary language from evidence of racist or misogynistic intent.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “‘Stone her’: Racism storm erupts as Liberal MP calls for Australia’s first female Muslim MP to be ‘shamed and stoned in the square’”.