A protester who managed to slip past Parliament House security to scale the roof and tie a banner to the crest calling on Australia to bring Julian Assange home has been charged with trespassing on Commonwealth land.
Senate President Scott Ryan and House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith have also sought an urgent briefing, after the security breach on Monday.
Blowing a whistle and crying "free Julian" and "no US extradition", the unknown protester had vowed to remain on the roof until the Australian government moved to extradite Assange from the UK.
"Send me up a sleeping bag," he yelled.
However he spent less than an hour on the roof before coming down of his own volition.
An ACT Policing spokesman confirmed on Tuesday officers had charged a 63-year-old man with trespassing on Commonwealth land.
He was bailed to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on December 4.
It is unclear how the man smuggled the banner into the building.
The Department of Parliamentary Services said while it would not comment on operational security matters, it would review the circumstances of the incident.
The presiding officers have sought an urgent briefing, the department spokeswoman said.
The security breach comes after a 2.6-metre fence was erected around Parliament House after two activists abseiled from the roof to unfurl a banner protesting the detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru in 2016.
The protestor on the roof of Parliament House: "I'll only come down when Julian Assange returns to Australia. Send me up a sleeping bag." pic.twitter.com/HspCD0FScP
— Katie Burgess (@katie_b_burgess) November 11, 2019
The fence - part of a $126 million security upgrade - was hugely divisive, as it prevented members of the public from walking across Parliament's grassy roof.
Architect Romaldo Giurgola had designed the building so Australians could walk above their politicians as a reminder that a government is never above its people.
Julian Assange is currently in a London prison, facing extradition to the United States, where authorities are attempting to charge him for publishing troves of classified information.
