Protesters in Australia set Old Parliament House in Canberra on fire
No one was injured in the fire, which engulfed the Old Parliament House's front doors before it was put out. It follows a fortnight of protest activity at the site, police said.
Protest violence on this scale is rare in Australia, but flare-ups have become more common during the pandemic. Observers said that some of the protesters had identified themselves as part of anti-government and "sovereign citizen" groups.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the violence, saying: "This is not how Australia works." I am disgusted and appalled by behaviour that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy in this country," he said.
Workers inside the heritage building were quickly evacuated once the fire broke out on Thursday. The current residents of the building, the Museum of Australian Democracy, had on 20 December shut its doors after indigenous protesters held a "peaceful sit-in".
The museum said it recognised protesters' rights to a peaceful protest. It has not yet addressed Thursday's rally. Indigenous campaigners have been holding demonstrations in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of establishing the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the former parliament's front lawns.
The tent embassy was a protest occupation site that launched a national discussion about indigenous land rights. It has been a permanent fixture on the lawns outside Old Parliament House since 1992 but is not always occupied.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Police said activity had escalated at the site in recent weeks. Australia's parliament moved to a new building a short distance away on Capital Hill in 1988, but the Old Parliament House has remained as a museum and national heritage site.
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