The artwork of a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl is still on public display in Canberra's Parliament House a week after the artist was sentenced to seven years in prison.
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Dennis Nona is a former star of the indigenous art world who has had his work hung in the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of NSW, as well as overseas.
He was convicted in the ACT last month and jailed for nine offences including sexual intercourse without consent and acts of indecency with a 13-year-old girl in the 1990s.
The conviction came after an initial conviction in July 2013 had been set aside and a retrial ordered in October last year.
The sculpture, which is entitled Gubuka (stingrays) and which has previously been exhibited in the National Museum of Australia, is still prominently on display on the ground floor of parliament house on a walk way that leads to the staff cafeteria.
The artwork is part of the Parliament House Art Collection, which has an overall value of about $80 million and is managed by the art services division of the Department of Parliamentary Services.
The artwork is supposed to celebrate the myths and customs of the Torres Islands, where Mr Nona was born in 1973.
It is understood that a meeting about the artwork will take place on Wednesday afternoon between the office of the Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and the office of the president of the Senate John Hogg.
It is expected that they will order the artwork be removed.
Assistant director for Art Services Justine Van Mourik declined to comment on the artwork and referred questions to the department's media team, from whom comment has been sought.
