A man who allegedly crashed a car through a security entrance at the site of South Australia’s Parliament House in Adelaide’s CBD yesterday evening has been arrested and charged.
Key points:
- Police were called to Parliament House in Adelaide last night following reports a man had crashed his car into a roller door
- Police say the man approached several employees attempting to gain access to Parliament House, but did not enter the building
- A 42-year-old Adelaide man has been charged with property damage
Police were called to North Terrace about 5:50pm on Tuesday in response to reports that a man had driven a black Audi sedan into an external roller door leading to a secure car park.
The man then allegedly approached several employees and attempted to gain access to Parliament House, but did not enter the building.
“Fortunately everyone was pretty switched on there, including the security staff,” SA Police Senior Constable Matt Brown told ABC Radio Adelaide.
He said security officers spoke to the man and detained him until police patrols arrived.
“A 42-year-old Adelaide man was arrested and charged with property damage,” he said.
“No-one was injured, no entry was gained to Parliament House by vehicle or otherwise, and all employees and MPs went home safely.”
The man has been bailed to appear in court in January.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said he understood the man was originally from interstate and “is considered to be a homeless person in South Australia”.
He said police had no security concerns as a result of the incident.
“I’m also advised there was nothing specifically malicious in relation to this person’s particular activities,” he said.
Independent MP Dan Cregan, who is the Speaker of the lower house, addressed the incident in parliament this morning.
“Police advise that they do not consider the incident an intentional attack on Parliament House,” he said.
Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said he was at Parliament House last night but was “not aware of this incident” until he heard it reported on ABC Radio Adelaide.
He said it appeared that parliament’s security processes had worked as intended.
“Even for MPs to make their way progressively into the building, we’ve got to go through multiple security checkpoints,” he said.
“That obviously has worked to some extent here, where that person was not able to access Parliament House proper.”
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