Sydney: An Australian state government leader on Monday said she was considering tougher laws to protect monuments after two statues of British explorer James Cook were vandalized in Sydney.
Two women were charged with defacing a Cook figure with spray paint in downtown Hyde Park over Saturday night.
Another statue was discovered spray painted in the eastern suburb of Randwick on Sunday morning in an unrelated attack, police said.
Cities around the world are taking steps to remove statues that represent cultural or racial oppression.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would consider toughening laws to deter future vandalism. "It's disturbing behavior but it is just a very small minority of the population, the vast majority of us think it's wrong, we think it's unacceptable and we think it's un-Australian," she told reporters in Sydney.
"We're not perfect but certainly we need to respect those milestones which have made a difference in our history," she added.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week apologized for words he used last week to reject calls for his Sydney electoral district of Cook to be renamed.
Cook came ashore in the district in 1770 in what was to become the site of the first British colony in Australia.
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