Competing rallies cripple capitals as crowds pour in
William Ton and Farid Farid |
Protesters from different ends of the political spectrum have shut down major city centres as police remain on guard to fend off potential clashes.
Thousands took to the streets in Melbourne, Sydney and other capitals under the Australia Unites banner, made up of several splinter groups, on Saturday.
Organisers said participants were voicing displeasure over worsening cost-of-living pressures, declining health outcomes, rising violence, financial strain and climate change denialism.
Some carried signs with slogans such as “We’re not right-wing, we’re just right.”
Opposing groups led by Indigenous and Palestinian activist groups also turned out in a National Day of Action against racism and fascism in response to neo-Nazis allegedly raiding an Indigenous camp in Melbourne on August 31.
They shouted “always was, always will be Aboriginal land” in unison at Flinders Street Station.
Dozens of Victorian officers, including mounted police on horses, were deployed in central Melbourne to make sure there was no clash of demonstrators by setting up orange barricades.
The ABC broadcasted aerial shots of police forming long lines to cordon off areas between the demonstrations about 50m apart.
The national broadcaster also reported capsicum spray being used with one man being caught up in the melee.
Police were granted additional powers to deal with the protests, allowing them to search for weapons and direct people to remove face coverings.
In Sydney, Australia Unites protesters originally signalled they would march across the Harbour Bridge, but settled for a different route after police challenged the decision in court
They instead rallied in the CBD, ending up in Hyde Park carrying Australian and Eureka flags.
“Well done Sydney…no troubles, no dramas. Done and dusted,” Pauline Hanson’s One Nation candidate Stuart Bonds posted on social media.
Police said a 50-year-old man was arrested for breaching the peace and escorted from the area. Two people were also treated by paramedics but no serious injuries were recorded.
“A police operation has concluded with no significant incidents following multiple planned assemblies in Sydney’s CBD today,” they said on Saturday.
“Hundreds of police (were) deployed across the city to ensure the safety of both participants, as well as the community and local businesses.”
With Sydney’s demonstrations wrapped up, Melbourne remained on high alert into the late afternoon for the possibility of scuffles erupting.
Violent brawls broke out between anti-immigration protesters and anti-fascism groups in August, which led to police deploying pepper spray to separate demonstrators in Melbourne.
A group of men dressed in black had clashed with people at Camp Sovereignty in King’s Domain on August 31, following the March for Australia rally in the city.
The camp is a burial site with the remains of Indigenous people from 38 clans. It was first created in 2006 to coincide with the Commonwealth Games and re-established in 2024.
Ten men, some with links to neo-Nazi groups, have been arrested and charged over the alleged assaults and affray.
Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the government supported peaceful protest but rebuked any protesters who planned to engage in harm and violence.
“Do not ever use the cloak of protest to go out there and cause crime,” she said.
“There is no place for protests that spread harm, that spread hate, that spread fear and violence, and there is certainly no place in Victoria for neo-Nazis.”
Saturday rallies were also staged in Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane, but police in none of these locations warned of similar clashes.
In New Zealand, some 50,000 attended the March for Humanity rally in central Auckland on Saturday morning decrying Israel’s military assault on Gaza in which nearly 65,000 have been killed since October 2023.
AAP
