A $242,000 slide that caught fire is among the extensive damage done to Parliament's grounds and the surrounding area. 

Today riot police successfully stormed Parliament's front lawn, tearing down tents and shunting protesters away from the site. 

The aftermath revealed a once lush green lawn has been turned into a brown paddock of hay and dirt. A mountain of mangled tents and debris remains. 

Outside of Parliament there is a substantial amount of graffiti that will need to be dealt to. 

Rioters were also tearing up bricks from a driveway to throw at police, which will eventually need to be replaced. 

Berms have been damaged, landscaping will need to be redone, and a large-scale cleaning operation will need to be undertaken. 

The damage to Parliament's front lawn was revealed this afternoon. Photo / Chris Bishop 

Wellington City Council has a clean-up crew ready to go, although whether they will enter the site tonight remains to be seen. 

Among the chaos of today's events, a fire broke out among some tents close to the Pōhutukawa trees which line the edge of the lawn outside Parliament. 

Huge plumes of black smoke filled the air, explosions could be heard, and the fierce orange flames managed to take hold of a slide and play space that was only opened in 2019. 

The slide is one of Speaker Trevor Mallard's initiatives to make Parliament more family-friendly, welcoming, and accessible. 

The centrepiece of the playground is the slide, which was manufactured in Palmerston North and made from sustainable forest beech. The safety pad material is made from recycled tyres. 

"Parliament belongs to all New Zealanders and I am delighted to see this play space come to fruition so that families and children can enjoy the grounds of Parliament and feel like they belong, and are welcome here," Mallard said when the playground was opened in November 2019. 

Speaker Trevor Mallard tests the slide at its opening in November 2019. Photo / Office of the Clerk 

Of the carnage today he said "I've never seen anything like it", but would not comment further. 

When approached for comment on the slide and the estimated cost of the overall damage, Mallard's office said the Speaker would not be commenting on security and police matters. 

A few months after the slide opened it was revealed to have cost $242,000, which National's then State Services spokesperson Nick Smith said was "scandalous". 

The combined cost of the slide itself, consultants, and civil works amounted to $572,000. 

Outside of Parliament's grounds, the damage is Wellington City Council's problem. 

Police clearing Parliament grounds of protesters and tents this afternoon. Photo / Mike Scott 

Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the site would be examined closely as soon as it was cleared and safe. 

"We are not going to try and make an estimate of what the damage will cost until everything is cleared so we can take a really good look at all of the public property." 

MacLean expected landscaping would be the main work council would need to attend to. 

But he said there has also been vandalism, including a lot of graffiti. 

"There's a hell of a lot of cleaning that's going to have to be done." 

Protesters lift bricks from Parliament's driveway to throw at police. Photo / Michael Neilson 

MacLean said the council has a large clean-up crew ready to go, that would be offering assistance to Parliament, Victoria University, and whoever else needed help. 

"Clearly we've got a big task in front of us."