Australians need to look for unity in the wake of a suspected assassination attempt against former US president Donald Trump, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says. 

Mr Albanese condemned the attack against the Republican presidential candidate and expressed his condolences to the victim and family members of an audience member killed in the attack. 

“This was an inexcusable attack on the democratic values that Australians and Americans share and the freedom that we treasure,” he told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

Any violent act was an affront to democratic values and “must be condemned unequivocally”, he said.

“We must lower the temperature of debate,” he said.

“There is nothing to be served by some of the escalation of rhetoric.

“We should be able to have political discussion and disagreement (and) do it respectfully.”

The prime minister said he had spoken with Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, who has conveyed the nation’s thoughts and concerns to the Republican National Committee chair and received an appreciative response.

Australian security agencies were also in contact with their American counterparts as part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance and would seek any lessons that could be learned, Mr Albanese said. 

While he wouldn’t speculate on what additional measures the Australian Federal Police would put in place to protect Australian lawmakers, Mr Albanese called for the tone of political debate to cool as community tensions flare. 

He also warned against the spread of misinformation and disinformation as facts about the shooting were still coming to light.

“We all need to be on guard against those seeking to use misinformation to create division,” he said.

“This isn’t a day for politics, this is a day to unite, to express our concern, regardless of one’s political views.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also expressed his thoughts and prayers to the former president, and reiterated that violence had no place in society. 

“My thoughts and prayers are for the spectator killed and others hurt,” he wrote on social media site X.

Mr Trump has since released a statement saying he was “fine” after video footage showed him bleeding from above his ear after going to ground following the sound of gunshots.

He was escorted off the stage by secret service agents with a raised fist in the air.

Latest reports from the scene say an audience member at the rally was killed, another was critically injured and the shooter was dead.

Mr Rudd also condemned the violence and welcomed news Mr Trump was safe.

Former Australian prime ministers Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott offered their thoughts and prayers as they too condemned violence.

“It’s never right to try to settle a political argument with a gun,” Mr Abbott wrote on X 

“Everyone should remember that in a stable democracy the things that unite us are always more important than anything that divides us.”

Mr Albanese said it would be “a tragedy” if politicians weren’t able to interact with the public and their communities due to safety concerns. 

with Reuters

By Dominic Giannini in Canberra