Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the non-lethal shooting of an Australian television reporter covering the protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in Los Angeles.
“We don’t find it acceptable that it occurred, and we think the role of the media is particularly important,” Albanese said Tuesday at the National Press Club of Australia, stating he had “already raised these issues with the U.S. administration.”
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Lauren Tomasi, a correspondent for Australian media outlet 9News, was covering the demonstration Sunday in Los Angeles, the day after the Trump administration announced it would send the National Guard.
“This situation has now rapidly deteriorated,” Tomasi said in the video, which has now gone viral. “The LAPD moving in on horseback firing rubber bullets at protesters, moving them on through the heart of LA.”
The video then shows an armed law enforcement officer aiming his weapon at Tomasi. She is then hit in the leg with an apparent rubber bullet. The reporter screams and jumps in pain.
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“Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events, ” 9News told The Daily Beast, saying this “incident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests, underscoring the importance of their role in providing vital information.”
Tomasi thanked her supporters on Monday, saying on X, formerly Twitter, that she was “a bit sore.”
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Albanese told reporters Tuesday that he spoke with Tomasi earlier that morning, calling her “pretty resilient” and the footage of her shooting “horrific.”
“That was the footage of an Australian journalist doing what journalists do at their very best, at their very best, which is to go into an environment that’s not comfortable,” Albanese said. ″But where, in LA, it is not unreasonable to think that she would not have been targeted with a rubber bullet.”
He continued, “It is not unreasonable to think that she could go about her coverage, clearly, as people can see in the footage, clearly identified as media.”
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National Press Club President Tom Connell then asked Albanese to clarify his use of the word “targeted.”
The prime minister replied that Tomasi was “clearly identified” as a journalist when she was shot.
“You know, there was no ambiguity,” Albanese said.
He went on to praise the role of journalists, providing a stark contrast to Trump, who has relentlessly attacked news organizations that have covered him critically, including The Associated Press.
“I say this here at the National Press Club, from time to time, I will have disagreements with journalists — that won’t shock you,” Albanese said.
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He added, “But, you know, I respect the role that the media play, and people should respect the role that the media play in our modern society.”
