Senator Lidia Thorpe accuses police of failing to protect her after ...

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have failed to protect her after becoming the target of far-right extremist racist abuse. 

Key points:Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe was tagged in a video of a Neo-Nazi burning an Aboriginal flag while doing a Nazi saluteThe AFP says it is investigating the video and takes the protection of elected officials seriouslyThe senator says the police have failed to protect her

A warning that this story contains offensive images that may cause distress to our audience.

The Indigenous senator was tagged in a video of a masked Neo-Nazi burning an Aboriginal flag while performing a Nazi salute this week.

In Melbourne on Thursday, she stood in front of the Royal Exhibition Building and described the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum as an "act of genocide against my people". 

Senator Thorpe made allegations that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the AFP are not doing enough to protect her from the far right.

"His violent force that he has sent to protect me can't even protect me, refuse to protect the Blak sovereign woman because the police are part of the problem in this country," she said.

"You want to paint me as an angry black woman, well you are about to see an angry black woman.

"Four months I wasn't allowed to be in my own home, because people want to kill me out there."

The AFP said it did not provide specific details on protection matters "involving Australian High Office Holders and Parliamentarians" however took their protection very seriously, and "significantly" invested in their safety.

The AFP said it was made aware of a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, referencing Senator Thorpe on October 3 and it immediately engaged with the social media platform to have the video removed. 

The post has since been deleted and the account that posted it deactivated. 

The video contains extremely offensive material but the ABC has chosen to use still images from it because we have reason to believe that this was not an isolated action by one individual.

The AFP are investigating the video of a neo-Nazi burning an Aboriginal flag.(Supplied)

The ABC has found that Senator Thorpe has been the target of a sustained harassment campaign by members of an Australian Neo-Nazi network.

Several members of this network, particularly in Melbourne where the senator is based, have bragged on their social media channels about harassing and sending her racist and abusive messages.

It is understood they have encouraged their followers to attend events where she was scheduled to speak.

13YARN, a national crisis support line for First Nations peoples who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping reported a 108 per cent increase in callers reporting abuse, racism, and trauma between March and June.

'Man-baby Nazis': Government 

When asked about the video the prime minister said people need to be "respectful" during the Voice to Parliament referendum debate. 

"I've seen the video that is referred to that is threatening towards Senator Thorpe and towards the government and the sort of Nazi rhetoric in that video has no place in discourse in Australian life," he said. 

Mr Albanese declined to respond to Senator Thorpe's comments as he had not yet seen them.

"Senator Thorpe contacted me directly. I responded to her at the first opportunity on the same day, spoke to the AFP," he said.

"I don't talk about what AFP support is being given for obvious reasons, that would be quite counterproductive."

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten also condemned the video as "cowardly and gutless".

"It's cowardly and disgusting, I don't know what it is with these man-baby Nazis, wearing a hood so no one can see you, they think they're so tough," he told Channel 9.

"Sending it and trying to pressure one of our senators and abuse them, I think it's cowardly and gutless and I just wish that bloke would take his hood off so people can see what sort of real joker he is."