Police fire rubber bullets at anti-vaxxer tradies who took over Melbourne’s war memorial

330

View
comments

Police have fired rubber bullets at protesters who set up camp atop Melbourne’s war memorial, with shocking vision showing the violent mob fleeing amid clouds of smoke. 

The protesters, who have been rallying for three days to demand an end to mandatory vaccinations for construction workers, swarmed Victoria’s Shrine of Remembrance which was built to honour the state’s men and women who served in the First World War. 

Throughout on Wednesday the mob chanted ‘lest we forget’ as they marched on the sacred monument, decked out in body armour and helmets in anticipation of a police attack while others sang chants urging officers not to arrest them out of ‘respect for the Anzacs’.

Eventually, the patience riot squad police wore thin when demonstrators started throwing rocks, having gone onto the memorial in the cowardly hope it would stop officers firing on them.

Officers responded by blasting the hi-vis wearing demonstrators with a flurry rubber bullets – sending the protesters scattering away from the wild scene. 

Police also followed up by launching pepper balls and stinger grenades to disperse the crowd.

More than 200 demonstrators were arrested throughout the day and two officers were injured as police were pelted with tap handles, golf balls, batteries and bottles. 

The ugly scenes came after police ordered news channels to stop broadcasting aerial images of the protests, claiming organisers were using the live feed to evade police.

Dozens of officers completely surrounded the protesters and prepared for a gas attack to flush them out while the demonstrators shouted ‘join us’ at the police and also sang the national anthem.

But two hours into the stand-off, police had still not fired gas and were telling protesters to leave to avoid being arrested. 

By about 4pm many protesters left along St Kilda Road after police parted to create a small exit route for them – but hundreds of diehards remained, chanting ‘stand your ground’. Among them were two parents accompanied by four small children. 

Footage taken from the chaotic scene shows a sea of officers in tactical gear grabbing protesters one by one, dragging them away from the steps of the war memorial. 

Some of the protesting tradies are seen hurling rocks and other projectiles as the police move in, prompting officers to start firing non-lethal rubber bullets. 

Shocked demonstrators could be heard calling the police ‘dogs’ while others screamed ‘oh my god!’ 

The remaining holdouts were eventually forced to flee and the shrine is now completely empty as the groups scattered into surrounding streets.

RSL Victoria slammed the protesters, saying they were ‘completely disrespecting the sanctity’ of the shrine,

‘Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance is a sacred place, of critical importance to the current and ex-service members of our community, for commemorating service and for the remembrance of those who have died performing their patriotic duty,’ a statement read.

‘Under no circumstances, ever, should the Shrine be a place of protest.

‘If any individuals or groups choose to express their political views, positions or ideological theories in the grounds of the Shrine at any time, they are completely disrespecting the sanctity of this time-honoured space, those men and women of the Australian Defence Force who have lost their lives, and all Victorian veterans.’

The chair of the Shrine of Remembrance Captain Stephen Bowater said the protest was ‘disgraceful and disrespectful to the honoured memory of Australian service men and women’. 

Victoria Police have also copped criticism for declaring Melbourne’s CBD a no-fly zone on Wednesday, with all helicopter traffic banned apart from the police air wing.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority on Wednesday confirmed the unprecedented shut down of the sky on the third day of the protests, leaving the media and the public outraged. 

Police said demonstrators were using the live stream vision to evade police. 

After a few hours later police back-tracked on the helicopter ban, allowing media cameras back in the sky, but restricting them from airing live vision.

That order will remain in place until Sunday 9am, with news choppers under strict instruction to delay their aerial footage for at least 60 minutes.  

‘This is because protesters were actively monitoring aerial livestreams, compromising the police operation and putting the safety of members at risk,’ police said in a statement.

News crews across Australia called the extreme measure a ‘huge overreach’ of police power.

The Premier’s office released a statement saying they were not involved in the decision.

‘These are operational decisions made by VicPol and the government is not involved,’ the statement said. 

Protest organisers used megaphones to plead with those trapped near the shrine to ‘clean up their garbage’ and dispose of any weapons they may be packing. 

Buses containing police were earlier seen heading to the memorial in Kings Domain on St Kilda, accompanied by scores of police cars with lights and sirens flashing. 

In the morning, images and footage from the CBD show officers handcuffing dozens of demonstrators for breaching stay-at-home orders on Wednesday morning after police vowed they would be better prepared for violence since being caught off guard on Tuesday.

Another dramatic video showed panicked protesters running away from police who opened fire using pellet guns which project blunt-force pellets the size of marbles that feel like a ‘hard punch’ on impact. 

Daily Mail Australia witnessed one man being pepper sprayed in front of his teenage son near the CFMEU building which has been the target of violent protests since Monday.

Protesters were seen taunting police guarding the headquarters after entering Victoria Street at 12.30pm, lighting flares and swearing at heavily armoured police. 

Despite Melbourne’s stay-at-home orders and a warning from authorities, several hundred demonstrators returned to the CBD on Wednesday morning.

One man told a live stream he walked to the shrine because ‘those people died for us, and now they want to take away out freedom’.

Earlier, riot police moved in to shut down dozens of people marching down Elizabeth and Collins streets.

A group of protesters sought cover in a nearby Chemist Warehouse after police pelted them with non-lethal rounds and pepper spray.

Deputy Premier James Merlino refused to call those in the city protesters, instead describing the scenes as ‘a mob acting criminally’.

He said they were putting health workers, themselves and the Victorian public at risk.

‘What we have seen over the last two or three days is criminal behaviour that does not represent our great state in any way, shape or form and that behaviour will not drive our case numbers down,’ he told reporters in Melbourne.

Police have permission to use crowd control force against anyone trying to repeat the seven-hour ‘cat and mouse’ game seen in Melbourne on Tuesday, when up to 2000 protesters led police across the city and shut down the West Gate Bridge. 

Earlier on Wednesday Daniel Andrews blasted violent protesters who caused chaos in Melbourne over the past two days as police vowed to use new tactics to fight back with more carnage expected.

About 2,000 tradesmen and anti-vaccination and freedom campaigners rampaged through the city for ten hours on Tuesday to demonstrate against a two-week shutdown of the construction industry imposed due to rising Covid cases.

Police – who were caught short by the hastily organised protest – said 62 people were arrested on Tuesday after footage showed violent thugs attacking police by throwing cans or punching them in the street.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison broadcast live from Washington DC – where he met with President Joe Bide earlier – to denounce the protests and call for calm.

‘These are important jobs and they will return, we will get through this but protest activity and what we have seen there is highly distressing and that is not an appropriate response to trying to deal with an outbreak of this nature,’ he said. 

Mr Andrews said the actions were an ‘insult’ to the majority of law-abiding tradies and said the protesters were not just builders but also far-right freedom and anti-vaxx protesters. 

‘Can I say at the outset that the ugly scenes that we saw yesterday are not only appalling, they’re unlawful. Victoria Police will take action against those who did the wrong thing yesterday,’ Mr Andrews said in his first public appearance since the protests.

‘I think there were some people there who you would say were from the building industry. 

‘There were others who were not from the building industry. They’re not there to protests, they’re there for a fight, pretend to be protesting. They’re from many different backgrounds. 

‘What offends me is not only is the conduct, but in my job, over many years, I have met hundreds and thousands of builders, hundreds and thousands of tradies who build this state, whether it be removing level crossings, building hospitals and schools, all the way through to building homes, they’re fine people, hardworking people, and what we saw yesterday is an insult, an insult, to the vast, vast majority of tradies or people in the building industry who are not about wrecking, they’re about building,’ he said. 

Mr Andrews defended his construction ban saying there were more than 350 Covid cases linked to the industry, more than in Victoria’s aged care sector. 

He also said mandatory vaccination orders for the industry would not be removed. 

Ahead of more expected protests on Wednesday, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Shane Patton said officers would employ ‘different’ tactics and have more boots on the ground – but refused to reveal operational details.

‘Victoria Police have planned, we have significant tactics in place, we will be agile in our response, we will be very swift in our response an conduct, as we’ve seen yesterday, and the previous day, will not be tolerated,’ he said. 

Police sources have told Daily Mail Australia that officers were on high alert for protesters carrying weapons, with fears nail guns could be used against police. 

Thousands of angry anti-vaxx protesters have vowed to march on Melbourne‘s streets ‘every day’ this week ‘until demands are met’ as part of a violent crusade sparked by mandatory coronavirus vaccinations on job sites. 

Their demands include the immediate end of lockdown, the mass distribution of unproven drug invermectin to treat Covid and the removal of a law requiring construction workers to be vaccinated by Friday.

The protesters have been communicating using encrypted messaging app Telegram. Police say they have no obvious leader, making discussions difficult. 

Of the state’s 6,000 active Covid cases, 403 are directly linked to 186 construction sites – with health officials fearing the industry is not taking the deadly virus seriously. 

Union leaders have dubiously claimed the mob are mostly made up of ‘fake tradies’ and have little to do with the construction sector.

Federal member for Maribyrnong and former Australian Workers’ Union boss Bill Shorten told the Today show the rowdy mob is just a ‘Nazi rent-a-crowd’ who got themselves a $2 hi-viz hoody from the ‘Reject Shop’.

CFMEU boss John Setka labelled the majority of protesters ‘man-baby Nazis’ and ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said the unions have been ‘infiltrated’.

But senior figures within the CFMEU say although far-right agitators and anti-vaxxers have exploited the situation, about ’80 to 90 per cent’ of the demonstrators were construction workers, The Age reported.

The sources also added that the once militant left wing union has seen a cultural shift take place among some of its members, with a growing number identifying with fringe right-wing ideologies.