A graffiti artist climbed one of Melbourne's Bolte Bridge pillars early on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, and refused to come down when police arrived, according to The Guardian.

The man abseiled—a climbing technique using ropes—down the 120-metre (nearly 400-foot) pillar to paint a large tag that read "Pam the Bird" before refusing police orders. Victoria Police sent officers and water police to the scene. They closed one lane of the bridge as a safety measure, but said there was no danger to the public or other drivers. Police negotiators tried to convince him to come down, but he stayed on the pillar.

"Pam the Bird" is a graffiti name that has appeared many times around Melbourne on buildings and hard-to-reach places. Police had charged someone connected to this tag before this incident, The Senior reported. It is unclear whether the person on the bridge is the same person who was charged before.

He filmed videos from the top of the pillar and posted them on Instagram under the account @pambirdofficial. In the videos, he said he would not come down until the government lowered taxes. He also joked about wanting food delivered by drone and a blanket. In one video, you could see his feet hanging over the edge with police below, and he made rude gestures at them.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the police were handling the situation correctly and that the legal process should take its course.

This incident mixes three things together: a real police and public safety situation, street art that people in Melbourne follow and recognize, and a live performance broadcast on social media. It is hard to know from a few video captions whether he was truly angry about taxes or just joking for the camera. Either way, climbing a 120-metre pillar in the dark without safety equipment is extremely dangerous, and the police treated it seriously.

For Melbourne police, "Pam the Bird" is an ongoing problem. The tag keeps appearing on important buildings and protected sites, which suggests either one very active artist or a group working under the same name. Since someone was already charged for this tag before, it did not stop the pattern. When this standoff ends, the police will face legal questions about trespassing, vandalism, and refusing to follow police orders. These questions will be harder to answer because it is unclear who is really behind "Pam the Bird," and the tag now has a lot of attention on social media.