Old Parliament House fire: Man accused of arson granted bail

The man charged with deliberately setting fire to Old Parliament House was shown on social media footage “stoking” the flames and acted in a “calculated” manner when he carried hot coals to the front doors, a court has heard.

The 30-year-old Victorian man, whose name has been suppressed due to concerns for his safety, was granted bail at ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday after being charged with arson and damaging commonwealth property.

Police will allege the man deliberately lit the blaze during protest action last Thursday, with court documents making reference to him having “sovereign citizen style beliefs”.

Arguing against bail, prosecutor Angus Brown said the man was facing a pending charge in Victoria of remaining in a restricted area, which also seemed to be “motivated by political protest”.

“These were not actions that occurred spontaneously, they were calculated, he went back numerous times to get fuel for the fire seemingly,” he told the court.

“There is a reference to there being social media capturing the defendant stoking that fire.

“It occurs also in a context where emergency services workers were prevented from accessing a particular part of the building where the fire was … (and) the defendant would have known the physical barrier being created by the protesters.”

Mr Brown said the man had travelled a long way from Victoria to attend the protest and his alleged actions showed an escalation in his behaviour.

Special Magistrate Jane Campbell noted the man was accused of carrying hot coals to the front door before it burst into flames.

She said the fire was started with “wilful disregard” to the safety of the people inside.

“It is alleged that (the man) was a person who moved hot coals back and forth from the fire to the front doors of the Old Parliament House,” she said.

“A fire started which was quite an intense fire — it required the evacuation of staff who were inside the building.”

She said there had been significant protest activity occurring outside the Old Parliament House since December 17.

In arguing for bail, legal aid lawyer Tamzin Lee submitted there was “no basis” for concerns that her client would not attend court or might interfere with witnesses. She said police hadn’t elaborated on how he had “sovereign citizen style beliefs”.

Ms Campbell said she would grant the man bail with strict conditions, which included reporting weekly to his local police station and not attending the ACT unless he has court or a legal appointment.

The man, who was wearing a grey polo shirt, shook his head as he was told he couldn’t go to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which has issued a statement condemning the fire.

Earlier during the proceedings, a woman named Jennifer Stefanac, from the group United Sovereign Nation of Terra Australis, applied to represent the man instead of legal aid but this was refused.

The matter will return to court on February 1.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews on Monday thanked police for investigating the incident after the arson charge was announced.

“Every Australian in this country has a right to protest and voice their disagreement with a particular Government policy or action; but that does not extend to alleged criminal behaviour,” she said.

Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ben Morton described Old Parliament House as not just a Commonwealth building but a national treasure.

“Old Parliament House as home of the Museum of Australian Democracy symbolises the greatness of our Australian Democracy – a democracy that is the envy of the world and deserves celebration, not condemnation,” he said.