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MP Jane Garrett 'Shaken, Shattered' After Alleged Assault In Broad Daylight

A woman has been arrested over the alleged attack in Melbourne.
Jane Garrett believes the alleged attack was politically motivated.
Fairfax
Jane Garrett believes the alleged attack was politically motivated.

CANBERRA -- Former Victorian emergency services minister Jane Garrett has described being grabbed by the head and shoved during what she said was a politically motivated assault.

A 52-year-old woman has been arrested and is under police guard in hospital over an alleged assault which took place at 4:15pm Monday near her inner Melbourne home in Carlton.

No charges have been laid.

It's been reported that the woman is known to Garrett and other Labor Party figures.

"I am feeling really shaken and distressed by it. It was a shock attack and very frightening," Garrett told reporters in Melbourne.

"This shattered my sense of peace and shattered my sense of security."

"It was really horrifying."

The former minister was walking home in "broad daylight" distracted by her headphones when a woman "screamed abuse" at her before a physical attack.

"[She] grabbed me by the head, shoved me, grabbed me by the head a couple of times, was very aggressive and it was terrifying," she said.

"I'm certainly sore today around the neck and the back."

Ms Garrett sustained minor injuries in the alleged attack which she said was politically motivated.

"It is certainly related to me being an MP, is my belief," she said. "I am not going to comment further. It is a matter for police."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the alleged assault on Ms Garrett was a "shocking incident".

"It just reminds us that some in public life will encounter these sorts of nasty incidents from time to time, we all have to be vigilant," Andrews said.

Jane Garrett resigned from Cabinet in June over a bitterly disputed enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) for the state's firefighters.

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