Gillard aide resigns after clash between police and protesters
Source: Agencies |
January 29, 2012, Sunday
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A CLASH between protesters and Australian police that forced bodyguards to rush Prime Minister Julia Gillard out of an event appears to have been set off by information released by one of Gillard's own aides.
The aide, media adviser Tony Hodges, resigned. Gillard's office said on Friday that he told someone that opposition leader Tony Abbott would be at the awards ceremony where the clash occurred. A spokesperson said in a statement the information was passed on to indigenous-rights protesters who were demonstrating nearby.
The protesters were angry about comments Abbott made about their movement, and about 200 of them surrounded the Canberra restaurant where the ceremony was being held. Gillard stumbled as she was rushed out and lost a shoe, which the protesters picked up.
Gillard said yesterday that Hodges acted alone, and that she accepted his resignation because she considered his conduct unacceptable. She said she was upset that protesters disrupted the awards ceremony, which honored Australians for their service and courage during recent natural disasters.
Abbott yesterday demanded more details and an investigation into what he called a "serious security breach." He told Sky News the incident appeared to be an attempt to "trigger something potentially dire for political advantage."
"Trouble was triggered and it seems that someone from the prime minister's office had a very big hand in all of that," he said.
Gillard said the suggestion that she played a role in the clash was "deeply offensive" and added that "it is absolutely typical of Mr Abbott's negativity and his tendency to go too far."
The restaurant where Thursday's clash occurred is close to the so-called Aboriginal Tent Embassy, where the protesters had demonstrated peacefully earlier in the day. That long-standing, ramshackle collection of tents and temporary shelters is a center point of protests against Australia Day, which marks the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on January 26, 1788.
The Tent Embassy celebrated its 40th anniversary on Thursday.
The aide, media adviser Tony Hodges, resigned. Gillard's office said on Friday that he told someone that opposition leader Tony Abbott would be at the awards ceremony where the clash occurred. A spokesperson said in a statement the information was passed on to indigenous-rights protesters who were demonstrating nearby.
The protesters were angry about comments Abbott made about their movement, and about 200 of them surrounded the Canberra restaurant where the ceremony was being held. Gillard stumbled as she was rushed out and lost a shoe, which the protesters picked up.
Gillard said yesterday that Hodges acted alone, and that she accepted his resignation because she considered his conduct unacceptable. She said she was upset that protesters disrupted the awards ceremony, which honored Australians for their service and courage during recent natural disasters.
Abbott yesterday demanded more details and an investigation into what he called a "serious security breach." He told Sky News the incident appeared to be an attempt to "trigger something potentially dire for political advantage."
"Trouble was triggered and it seems that someone from the prime minister's office had a very big hand in all of that," he said.
Gillard said the suggestion that she played a role in the clash was "deeply offensive" and added that "it is absolutely typical of Mr Abbott's negativity and his tendency to go too far."
The restaurant where Thursday's clash occurred is close to the so-called Aboriginal Tent Embassy, where the protesters had demonstrated peacefully earlier in the day. That long-standing, ramshackle collection of tents and temporary shelters is a center point of protests against Australia Day, which marks the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on January 26, 1788.
The Tent Embassy celebrated its 40th anniversary on Thursday.
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