A MEDIA adviser to Australian prime minister Julia Gillard resigned last night after it emerged he had revealed details of opposition leader Tony Abbott’s location prior to a furious protest breaking out.
Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott were caught up in the demonstration on Thursday which was sparked when an activist at Canberra’s Aboriginal tent “embassy” told protesters Mr Abbott was at an awards ceremony just a few hundred metres away.
The protesters were outraged at Mr Abbott’s response when he had earlier been asked if the 40-year- old tent embassy should be moved. “I think a lot has changed since then and I think it probably is time to move on from that,” he said.
The prime minister and opposition leader were forced to flee the venue when the protesters started banging on its glass sides chanting “shame” and “racist”.
The revelation that media adviser Tony Hodges exposed Mr Abbott’s whereabouts is deeply embarrassing to the Labor government. The prime minister’s office last night confirmed Mr Hodges called another person and told them Mr Abbott’s location. This information was then passed on to a third party at the tent embassy.
Ms Gillard’s spokesman said Mr Hodges did not in any way encourage violence or demonstration but that it was an error of judgment and he had resigned.
Shadow minister Christopher Pyne said the revelations were “very grave”. “Releasing the opposition leader’s schedule or whereabouts is a classified matter. It was a dangerous act on the part of Julia Gillard’s office,” he said.
An Australian flag was burned during a protest march from the tent embassy to Parliament House yesterday. An Aboriginal elder, who did not want to be named, told ABC radio: “We’re not going to get respect if people are burning flags.”