Australia’s Former Parliament Building Damaged By Protest Fire
Protesters set the former parliament building in Canberra on fire during an Aboriginal rights protest on Thursday, causing limited damage.
The fire guts the Old Parliament House’s front doors before it was put out but no one was injured in the fire.
Protesters have been outside Old Parliament House for more than a week and had begun a traditional smoking ceremony on Thursday.
ACT police commander Linda Champion said officials agreed to the small smoking ceremony as part of the peaceful protest but it had gotten “a little bit out of hand”.
“When ACT police went to respond, that’s when it was greatly escalated,” she said.
“If there are peaceful demonstrations, we fully support that. If there is any criminal activity, we will be taking action.”
The blaze occurred when police broke up a traditional smoking ceremony by a small number of activists at the building’s entrance.
The Canberra building was home to the country’s federal parliament from 1927 to 1988 and now houses the Museum of Australian Democracy.
The museum said in a statement that it is “closed until further notice while we address fire damage caused by protesters today.”
There was no immediate news about the extent of the damage, but images showed flames and smoke coming from wooden double doors at the building’s entrance. The vast majority of the edifice remained untouched, and the blaze was said to have been quickly extinguished.
Activist Albert Hartnett said in a Facebook post that police had used pepper spray to break up the demonstration, which he alleged had caused the roof of a portico to catch fire.
The National Heritage Register-listed building has been the scene of a series of protests by an “Aboriginal Tent Embassy” in recent weeks. Past protests included lighting a fire by the building’s doors.
Government member of parliament David Littleproud denounced the damage. The first
“No matter your race, your religion, your belief in this country, no one has the right to damage property demonstrating, particularly a symbol of our democracy which hundreds of thousands of Australians died defending,” he said.
