CANBERRA - A member of the Prime Minister's staff has lost his job after passing on information that alerted Aboriginal tent embassy supporters to the nearby presence of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, leading to a massive security scare involving both leaders.
The issue is an embarrassment for Julia Gillard, who yesterday was praised for her concern for Mr Abbott when protesters surrounded Canberra's Lobby Restaurant, where the pair were attending an Australian Day awards ceremony.
A clearly distressed Ms Gillard had won sympathy after Australians saw footage of spooked security guards unceremoniously bundling her away from the venue.
She lost a shoe and almost tumbled over as Mr Abbott ran behind her to a waiting car.
The 200 protesters were angry at Mr Abbott because they thought he had earlier called for the 40-year-old tent embassy outside Old Parliament House in Canberra to be torn down.
While the media adviser - named as Tony Hodges - did not directly tell tent embassy organisers where Mr Abbott was, the person he did tell passed that information on.
``A member of the Prime Minister's media unit did call another individual yesterday and disclosed the presence of the Opposition Leader at the Lobby Restaurant,'' a spokesman said.
``This information was subsequently passed on to a member of the Aboriginal tent embassy.''
The staff member had not ``in any way'' suggested or encouraged violence or demonstration.
``Nevertheless, given the circumstances of yesterday's function at the Lobby Restaurant, this action was an error of judgment,'' the spokesman said.
Coalition frontbencher Christopher Pyne said the revelation was serious and called for an inquiry.
``The Prime Minister should immediately initiate an Australian Federal Police inquiry into who the schedule was released to, and for what purpose, and into whoever was involved in the decision to breach the leader of opposition's security,'' Mr Pyne said.
``The opposition finds it remarkable that the staffer would have acted unilaterally and we believe the Prime Minister needs to do more than simply scapegoat one staffer.''
Meanwhile, Aboriginal protesters kept their Australia Day anger alive for a second day and burnt the national flag outside Parliament House yesterday, as police considered laying charges over the melee.
But indigenous community leaders Warren Mundine and Mick Gooda yesterday lined up to condemn Thursday's protest, saying the aggression and disrespect shown to Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott was appalling.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mr Gooda said the protest was ``aggressive, divisive and frightening''.
Both community leaders questioned the current relevance of the tent embassy, with Mr Mundine saying it had been hijacked by a ``very motley crew'' intent on tagging their concerns to Aboriginal reconciliation.
Tent embassy organisers were unmoved, calling Mr Mundine and Mr Gooda ``handpicked puppets'' who did not represent grassroots Aboriginal people.
``We're over it, so get over it and move on,'' Michael Anderson, the last surviving member of the original four that established the tent embassy in 1972, said yesterday.
The federal police will investigate Thursday's incident, during which the protesters surrounded the restaurant and banged on glass windows and shouted, and will consider laying charges if offences have been committed.
Tent embassy organisers also said yesterday that they would seek the approval of Aboriginal communities throughout the country to sign a ``declaration of sovereignty'' over Australia.
``Either you respect us as a sovereign people or piss off out of our country,'' indigenous activist Paul Coe told reporters.
Later, another group of about 200 marched on Parliament House and set fire to an Australian flag while chanting ``always was, always will be Aboriginal land''.
Ms Gillard said she didn't believe the events on Thursday would hamper progress toward the recognition of indigenous Australians in the constitution.
``We are a country on a journey to genuine reconciliation,'' she said.
Late yesterday, Ms Gillard's blue suede wedge-heel right foot shoe, which she lost in the Australia Day melee, was handed over to a security guard at Parliament House and sent on to her office.
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