Security Review Launched After Pro-Palestine Protestors Scale Parliament House

Radical pro-Palestine protesters hang banners from the top of Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on July 4, 2024. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Pro-Palestinian protestors scaled the roof of Australia’s federal Parliament House in the latest action by the radical activists.

The situation has prompted an investigation with Speaker of the House Milton Dick announcing the move after talks with the federal police commissioner.

On July 4, the Renegade Activists climbed onto the roof of the nation’s parliament and unfurled three banners in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, while also condemning supposed U.S. imperialism.

The group chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” as well as, “From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.”

The activists soon ended the protest and were escorted away by police, with three individuals arrested.

Investigation Launched

The speaker Mr. Dick said he did not want a repeat of the incident.

“I’ve asked the commissioner for a wider review of security arrangements. I do not want a repeat of today’s events,” he told Parliament on July 4. “We are deeply concerned about this morning’s event.”

The public was barred from from sitting in the House of Representatives during Question Time as a security measure.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the protestors’ actions.

“Those responsible should feel the full force of the law. Peaceful protest has an important place in our society, but this was not a peaceful protest,” he said.

“People should be able to come and watch their Parliament function in real-time but activities such as that undermines that, and undermines our democracy.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton echoed the prime minister’s comments.

“Serious questions need to be asked about how these people were permitted entry into the building,” he said.

“We need to understand the gravity of the situation because these images will be beamed around the world.”

Security at the peak lawmaking body was bolstered with a $126 million upgrade after a review in 2014.

The result was a fence being built to stop access to the roof of Parliament House.

The complex is built with a grassed roof to symbolise the public being able to walk above their elected representatives.

A Long Track Record of Activism

It is the latest incident instigated by radical activists supposedly in support of Palestinians.

In mid-June, protestors lit a fire and spray-painted the office of Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns in inner-city Melbourne.

“It’s a reflection of eight months of my team turning up to work and being abused and screamed at, and I’ve got really good people who are working for me,” Mr. Burns told media.

Just days earlier, the U.S. Consulate in Sydney was also heavily damaged after protestors swung a sledgehammer at the front entrance and spray-painted red triangles on the glass—the symbols are used in videos circulated by Hamas’s military wing to identify Israeli military targets.