Tensions surrounding another Brisbane university student election have boiled over, this time at the Queensland University of Technology, following the arrest of two students at the Kelvin Grove campus today.

QUT security manager Fergus Ross confirmed that the police were called after a student refused to leave the campus, following a complaint from a campaigning QUT student “about intimidator behaviour by another person, who was allegedly circulating a petition”.

“As the person had not acquired prior approval to petition students, as per QUT policy, QUT security asked that person to identify himself. After repeated refusals, QUT staff, as per policy, asked him to leave which was again refused,” Mr Ross said in a statement.

The students were allegedly distributing flyers promoting a demonstration against the Newman government job cuts tomorrow and gathering signatures for a petition on the same issue when they were arrested.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that two people had been arrested following an “incident at an educational facility at Kelvin Grove” just after 10.30 this morning.