A Victorian man who made a one-off threat to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese through a generic Contact Your PM website has been placed on a good behaviour bond.
Shui Bimal Ram had sent 33 emails to the contact page - directed towards Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese - between 2016 and 2023.
The emails of the man, who has since been working with a psychologist to address mental health issues, included offers for him to be employed as a mediator for talks with China and the export of minerals from concealed pyramids on the Australian coastline.
An email in March this year sparked a red flag for authorities when he declared he would "hunt you down and one or both of us will remain alive or dead".
Mr Ram, 54, sent a follow-up message to Mr Albanese in April apologising for any and all hurt his email had caused, noting his highly depressive state.
"I do not mean you or anyone else harm," he wrote.
His lawyer provided Ringwood Magistrates Court with letters from Mr Ram's treating doctor and psychologist, and said he had struggled with anxiety and depression since becoming unemployed in 2017.
He pleaded guilty to a single charge of using a carriage service to menace.
Prosecutors told the court that threats against people in high office were increasingly prevalent and should be taken seriously but recognised this was an isolated incident.
Magistrate Vincenzo Caltabiano said it was one of the great strengths of the Australian community that people can hold and express differing political views, but that only functions if people treat each other with respect.
"Clearly the message that you sent on this occasion went well beyond that," he said.
"It would be concerning at the least to any person reading that, particularly given the broader context in which public figures and our political leaders operate."
He acknowledged Mr Ram's apology email, his long-term struggle with his mental health and the positive steps he has already been taking to receive treatment, and placed him on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
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