Queensland’s parliamentary rules,and the Criminal Code,ban any disturbance of proceedings from the public gallery.Credit:Michelle Smith
The parliamentary security team is investigating and police will be asked to lay charges.
The protest,in which the group chanted “stop coal,stop gas” from the public viewing area,was claimed by Extinction Rebellion,which criticised the state government for its emissions reduction target amid aslated shift away from coal-fired power.
Parliamentary rules,and the Criminal Code,ban any disturbance of proceedings from the public gallery. Visitors are required to turn in phones and bags on entry.
“The protesters brought in protest material to the gallery hidden under clothes – skirts,shawls etc,” Speaker Curtis Pitt said in a statement.
“In a particularly despicable act,cameras to film and live-stream the protest were brought in by accomplices using disabled access facilities for a wheelchair,thus avoiding metal detectors.”
Pitt said parliamentary security was a matter of “utmost importance” and the security team was investigating the matter with “all the means at its disposal”.