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| Down Under |
| Victoria man charged with arson over fire at Canberra's Old Parliament House |
| 2022-01-04 |
| [THEGUARDIAN] A 30-year-old Victorian man has been charged with arson in relation to last week’s fire at Canberra’s Old Parliament House. Australian Capital Territory police detectives arrested the man on Sunday night in the ACT suburb of Parkes. Police allege the fire during a protest last week was deliberately lit, and have also charged the man with damaging commonwealth property. He is due to face the ACT magistrates court on Tuesday. Three other people faced court on Sunday. Two were charged with assaulting a frontline service provider and the third was charged with hindering a territory official. Old Parliament House was closed after the front doors of the heritage-listed building were burnt in Thursday’s fire, causing potentially irreparable damage. Police confirmed officials had agreed a small smoking ceremony could take place as part of a peaceful protest but said it got "a little bit out of hand". |
| Posted by:Fred |