1996 Parliament House riot

The Australian Council of Trade Unions called the "cavalcade to Canberra" rally to protest against the proposed Budget cuts and industrial relations reform agenda of the Liberal-National Coalition Howard government.

[1] Industrial relations reform had been a key issue canvassed by Liberal Leader John Howard in the 1996 Australian Federal election campaign.

During the election campaign, ACTU Secretary, Bill Kelty, had threatened 'industrial war' if a Coalition Government tried to challenge union power.

[2] The newly elected Howard government proposed to balance the Australian federal budget by means of extensive budget cuts, and introduced a draft Workplace Relations Amendment Bill which proposed to curtail 'compulsory unionism' and to introduce a more decentralised bargaining structure to the Australian work place.

Subsequent discussions were also conducted with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the indigenous representatives and all agreed to these parameters for the demonstration.

This group was supported by participants from the more general demonstration who were incited to join those involved in riotous conduct by a speaker from the official platform.

After some two hours, the demonstrators were finally repelled from Parliament House and driven back onto the forecourt area and, shortly afterwards, they dispersed.

More than 60 police were injured and 50 people arrested, while "the Parliament House entrance, marble hall and souvenir shop were turned into a battle zone...".

Senator Cheryl Kernot for the Australian Democrats said she "condemned" the violence and "I deplore the actions of those who, in my opinion, selfishly and deliberately chose to distract from discussion of the issues".