Australia probes US police assault on its journalists

Australia is investigating a US police attack on two Australian television journalists outside the White House, the foreign minister said Tuesday, expressing "strong concerns" about the assault caught live on camera.

"We have asked the Australian embassy in Washington, DC to investigate this incident," Marise Payne said after the journalists were slammed with a riot shield, punched and hit with a baton while broadcasting from the protest.

"I want to get further advice on how we would go about registering Australia's strong concerns with the responsible local authorities in Washington," she said, indicating a formal complaint would follow.

Footage showed 7NEWS reporter Amelia Brace being clubbed with a truncheon and cameraman Tim Myers being hit with a riot shield and punched in the face by police clearing Washington's Lafayette Square of protesters on Monday.

The journalists said they were later shot with rubber bullets and tear-gassed, which Brace said left the pair "a bit sore".

The incident was widely broadcast in Australia, causing consternation in a country that has been a close US ally.

The US ambassador to Australia, Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., said on Twitter: "We take mistreatment of journalists seriously, as do all who take democracy seriously."