Man appears in court after axe attack on Parliament Buildings
The man arrested for allegedly damaging an entranceway at Wellington’s Parliament Buildings with an axe has appeared in court.
The 31-year-old, who was granted interim name suppression, appeared before Judge Bill Hastings for a bail hearing in a rarely used secure room at the Wellington District Court because of his mental state.
He was charged with possession of an offensive weapon, intentional damage and resisting a police officer in the execution of their duties. He faced a separate charge of intentional damage from an incident in which he allegedly broke a glass panel at a petrol station in Rotorua in December.
The man was remanded in custody until a mental health assessment could be completed. Once an assessment is made he will be bailed to a mental health unit.
He will reappear at the Wellington District Court on January 28 at 10am.
Police were called at 5.25am yesterday after several glass doors and panels on Parliament grounds were smashed.
The man was taken into custody a short time later. He did not get inside the buildings.
Workers were seen clearing the shattered glass from the entrance later yesterday morning.
Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said there would be a full review of the incident to assess whether changes to security measures at Parliament were needed.
‘‘We have robust systems, processes and procedures in place for physical and cyber-security, and these are regularly reviewed and updated so that we can manage the ever-changing risks within the parliamentary environment while ensuring the level of access New Zealanders currently enjoy is maintained.
‘‘The plans in place to respond to an incident of this nature had been practised and today shows that they have been executed effectively,’’ GonzalezMontero said.