FORMER Riverina MP Kay Hull has empathised with the independent Tony Windsor after he received death threats, recalling moments in her own political career when she felt unsafe.Mr Windsor has called for restraint from talkback radio hosts and fellow MPs amid an increasingly vitriolic debate about the federal government’s carbon tax plans, revealing that he had received a number of death threats over the issue.Mrs Hull yesterday said that over the course of her 12-year political career she too had been threatened with violence and sent “vile, unwanted gifts through the mail”.She also revealed that at various times the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had to become involved to “ensure my safety was paramount”.Mrs Hull said she felt most under threat while she was chairing a a committee conducting a review on family law and after she supported John Howard’s decision to send Australian troops to Iraq.“It’s most definitely unsettling,” she said.“When you first get into politics you know you’ll be in the public eye and you’ll be judged every day ... but I don’t think you do consider the possibility that violence will be threatened against you.”Despite this she said it was important to stay true to conviction even when the going gets tough.Meanwhile, Mrs Hull’s successor, Michael McCormack, yesterday sat next to Mr Windsor at a meeting of the standing committee for regional Australia.He said he had conveyed his sympathy for the situation Mr Windsor found himself in.“It’s a great democracy we have in Australia and no issue should cause people to lower themselves to this sort of level.”