The University Ave protest site. The ANU says it’s been left with a $60,000 repair bill after the protestors left. Photo: James Coleman.
The Australian National University (ANU) has been left with $60,000 worth of damage to two of its lawns following the disbanding of a pro-Palestine encampment.
Students behind the ANU Gaza Solidarity Encampment decided to pack up their tents and marquees on Monday, 19 August, after 110 days set up on the campus, making it the longest-running pro-Palestine protest in Australia.
Organisers said a dispute with the university over electricity supply to the site had made continuing the protest “completely untenable”.
The encampment was initially located on a lawn in the Kambri precinct before they were ordered to move further down University Avenue because they were blocking a fire evacuation area.
The ANU Gaza Solidarity Encampment agreed to decamp last month. Photo: Supplied.
In a statement, the ANU said both lawns were “damaged” but that the price to repair them was too high.
“We can confirm the lawns at Kambri and University Avenue were damaged by the encampment,” the statement read.
“The cost to remediate the areas to their pre-encampment state is estimated to be around $60,000.
“Due to current financial considerations, the university will not be proceeding with these works at this stage. Our landscape and conservation team are doing as much as they can to maintain the grass for the time being.”
The “current financial considerations” include a growth in spending over the last year, at the same time as a drop in income. The shortfall was $132 million in 2023 compared to the budgeted $105 million.
Nick Reich from the Students for Palestine group questioned the damage and said the protesters “cleaned up everything” when they left, removing all rubbish and taking up all tent pegs.
“Looking at both lawns, it’s not substantially more damage than would happen when the university itself or the student union hosts events on these lawns,” he told Region.
“They’re highly trafficked, particularly the one at Kambri, so I think it’s a bit of a confected outrage [the ANU] is trying to manufacture.”
Protesters claim the sites were pristine when they left. Photo: Supplied.
Students from both groups – Students for Palestine and ANU for Palestine – held regular rallies on the campus since April 2024, calling for the university to cut its ties with companies with defence links.
Freedom of information (FOI) documents reportedly showed that the ANU held investments in Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Saab, which were valued at more than $1 million.
Following a review, the ANU Council agreed to alter its long-term investment policies and “not invest in controversial weapons manufacturers and civilian small arms manufacturers” going forward.
Protesters said they had enjoyed success but didn’t part ways on good terms.
The ANU switched power off to the encampment site in mid-August after the students denied access to staff to inspect the site for safety hazards.
“Despite claiming to support our right to protest, the ANU has called the police on us, censored us and lied about us,” a statement from the protesters read.
A recent review of the ANU Student Association has accused it of putting “too much focus on pro-Palestine campaigning over recent months”. Photo: Supplied.
Post encampment, Nick said many of the protesters have turned their attention to reinstating an “anti-war exhibit” on the campus.
This featured a number of placards, posters and banners from various other anti-war protests and campaigns over the last few years at the ANU, some against AUKUS and the most recent against Israel and the US.
Nick claimed it was “vandalised by some anti-Palestine activists”, and the School of Art and Design then refused a request to have it reinstated.
“We’re looking to launch a campaign around free speech on campus,” he said.
A recent independent review into the governance of the ANU Students Association (ANUSA) also found the body had put “too much focus on pro-Palestine campaigning over recent months”. It recommended the ANUSA president be restricted from taking “political stances”.
Protesters claim this is about “suppressing left-wing politics within ANUSA and undermining its democratic structures”. In response, they’ve launched an online petition.
“We want to make sure this governance report doesn’t get implemented,” Nick told Region.
The ANU was contacted for comment but hadn’t replied by the time of publication.
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