Man accused of Old Parliament House arson breaches bail hours after court appearance

A Victorian man accused of setting fire to Old Parliament House is behind bars after being arrested for breaching his bail conditions.

A 30-year-old man accused of setting fire to Old Parliament House has breached his bail conditions, hours after they were set.

The Victorian man, who appeared in ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with arson and damaging commonwealth property, was granted bail ahead of his next appearance on February 1.

But, ACT Police confirmed the man had been arrested in Parkes alongside another male on Tuesday afternoon.

While the first man was arrested for a driving offence, his passenger was charged with breaching his bail conditions, “whereby he was instructed not to enter the suburb of Parkes except in the company of a police officer, to collect personal items”.

The 30-year-old Victorian man is accused of damaging the nearly 100-year-old building. Picture: @ShaneMcInnes

“He was remanded overnight to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court today (Wednesday),” an ACT Policing spokesperson said.

In arguing for his client’s bail on Tuesday, legal aid lawyer Tamzin Lee said there was “no basis” for concerns that her client would not attend court or interfere with witnesses.

Special Magistrate Jane Campbell granted the man strict bail conditions, which included reporting weekly to his local police station, and not attending the ACT unless he had court or a legal appointment.

The conditions stipulated he was not to attend the Aboriginal Tent Embassy or enter the suburb of Parkes, where both Old Parliament House and the tent embassy are located.

The man is accused of carrying “hot coals” to the front of Old Parliament House amid protests on December 30.

He will appear in Canberra Magistrates Court on Wednesday.