Police 'devastated' after Australian War Memorial vandalised, allegedly with pro-Palestine slogans

Police are devastated that the Australian War Memorial was vandalised by a so-far unidentified man overnight, who allegedly damaged the building with graffiti featuring pro-Palestine slogans.

ACT Policing allege a man graffitied three publicly accessible areas on the outside of the war memorial, on its walls and the ground, with slogans at around 1 am on Friday morning (14 June).

That afternoon, Acting Inspector Lisa Broomhall told a media conference that she was not able to report what the slogans were, other than that they were “pro-Palestine slogans”, and she said police were “quite devastated” by the incident.

“We’re very disappointed to see a national institute in Canberra, which holds a very significant place for many of us in Australia, vandalised, and we’re very ashamed that this has happened in Canberra,” she said.

Canberra’s National Vietnam War Memorial was vandalised in March 2024 when it was spray-painted with phrases such as “free Gaza”.

Acting Inspector Broomhall said police were looking at any links between this incident and Friday’s incident, as well as vandalism to the Canberra ABC building on Northbourne Avenue, which also occurred around March 2024.

“At this stage, no one’s been charged with any of these incidents, but we are investigating any links there might be,” she said.

“We’d just like to remind the community that while peaceful protest is part of our community and our democracy, any criminal acts are not going to be tolerated by police.”

In a statement, Australian War Memorial director Matt Anderson said he was “saddened by graffiti which desecrated the heritage building”.

“The memorial’s purpose is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war or on operational service,” he said.

“It is the memorial’s view that the vandalism is both inappropriate and offensive.”

The Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) also condemned the “desecration” of the Australian War Memorial.

“People are entitled to protest, but the defilement of a memorial to those who served, suffered and died in the service of the Australian nation and to protect the freedoms and way of life of all Australians is disgusting and to be deplored,” RSL national president Greg Melick said.

“On behalf of the RSL and all who have served and continue to serve our nation, we condemn the actions of the protester or protesters in the strongest possible terms.

“These shameful people must be apprehended and face the full force of the law.”

Police are calling for information about the man alleged to have damaged the Australian War Memorial.

“At this stage, we are looking at how the male did get to and from the memorial, and we are hoping that might give us some leads as well,” Acting Inspector Broomhall said.

“But we are very confident that someone in the community will be able to give us some information.”

This man was apparently caught on a security camera. Police described him as wearing a black jumper, a black face covering and khaki pants with dark knee patches at the time of the incident.

If you can identify the man in the image at the top of this article, or if you have information about this incident, you can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Quote reference number 7774192.