Now senior Government official tries to block filming outside State Parliament State Parliament's Usher of the Black Rod Chris Schwarz tried to block media filming a protester on the footpath on North Tce outside Parliament House. Picture: ABC Source: adelaidenow A protester on the footpath on North Tce outside Parliament House is led away as Mr Schwarz tries to block filming. STATE Parliament's Usher of the Black Rod has defended an extraordinary attempt to block media filming a protester on the footpath on North Tce outside Parliament House. The attempt follows Legislative Council President John Gazzola's threat to sue The Advertiser over an editorial critical of his media policy , and the Federal Government's failed media control Bills. The senior parliamentary official, Chris Schwarz, today denied the move was censorship or suppression, but indicated he regarded the footpath as "an extension" of Parliament despite acknowledging there is no such official jurisdiction beyond the building's steps. The incident occurred yesterday after an indigenous man made vocal protests in the Upper House over legislation to acknowledge Aborigines as the nation's first people in the State Constitution. The man was ejected from the Chamber then arrested while still within Parliament House when he continued to loudly object. TV crews filming the incident inside the building stopped when ordered, however started filming again from the footpath on North Tce when the man was escorted outside by police. Mr Schwarz had followed the man's ejection and approached an ABC TV crew, physically blocking their cameraman's view and ordering him to stop filming despite the footpath being public ground, where anyone is allowed to take photographs or film. Mr Schwarz today said his action occurred "in the context of a heightened situation" and that the footpath could be considered "an extension" of Parliament. "There was a significant piece of legislation passing in the Chamber when a situation occurred and a gentleman was taken away by police - there were people filming in Parliament House and I approached them and asked them not to film," Mr Schwarz said. In some ways the area outside is an extension of the Chamber and I didn't want it to distract from the Constitutional Bill - significant people had come to witness and experience the situation so in that environment I asked them not to film. At the time I did not feel I was trying to censor or suppress them but felt for the dignity of the person being taken away it would be better not to film. I walked out and approached two individuals and asked them not to film or photograph the situation. Mr Schwarz said he was acting on his own initiative rather than on any orders from Mr Gazzola, who has faced criticism for not following Speaker Michael Atkinson's lead in the Lower House to relax rules about filming in the Chamber.