Gympie residents respond to Town Hall ‘freedom’ rally

Gympie’s second ‘freedom’ rally drew a crowd of almost 100 people out the front of Town Hall on Tuesday, but not everyone agreed with the protesters’ cause.

Gympie residents have slammed the actions of a ‘freedom’ protest in the CBD on Tuesday morning, where about 100 people congregated out front of the Town Hall.

The ‘freedom’ rally was one of a series that took place across Australia on Tuesday, where protesters stood in silence, unmasked and not socially distanced against the government’s response to the pandemic.

A crowd gathered outside the Gympie Town Hall in protest against the government's response to the pandemic 31/08/21. Photo: Elizabeth Neil

A poll asking Gympie Times readers if they agreed or disagreed with the protesters’ actions resulted in 86 per cent of the 172 votes cast disagreeing.

Residents were not afraid to voice their opinions on the rally, which began with a crowd outside the entrance to the Town Hall which then marched the length of Mary St to the council offices at the top of Upper Mary Street.

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A Facebook post attached to the article shared on Tuesday garnered more than 300 comments, with most people condemning the actions of the rally.

“Minority groups doing their best to inconvenience the majority,” CJ Rumsey said.

“Freedom rally, really? You haven’t even been in lockdown,” Scott Finger said.

“Utter nutters, and how dare they put health conscious lives at risk,” Karen Land said.

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But within the majority of comments condemning the actions, a small group agreed with the rally.

“These comments prove the programming works, keep wearing your blinkers with your heads buried in the sand your government loves you individually,” Debee Forrester said.

This protester was the only person in the crowd to wear a mask, though not the traditional Covid-safe precautionary measure.

“Good on you all. Keep up the pressure,” Noela Saggers said.

“Not hurting anyone. Peaceful protests are still allowed,” Mary Morris said.

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The protest resulted in Town Hall being closed to the public.