Vandals caught defacing historic monuments will face jail time and hefty fines if convicted, under tough new laws being introduced by the Australian government.

Century-old statues of explorer Captain James Cook will be amongst the first items placed on the National Heritage List and automatically protected by law under the scheme. Several monuments and statues of Captain Cook, the first European to fully explore and chart Australia’s east coast, were attacked around Australia last month, as Breitbart London reported.

At the time, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the vandalism – sparked by the high-profile removal of Confederate statues and desecration of memorials to historic figures in the United States – was similar to Soviet times.

“This is what Stalin did,” he said on Facebook.