Protesters not like Anzacs — they’re like Martin Luther King: Sri

Maverick Brisbane councillor Jonathan Sri has found few supporters with his controversial comments linking climate protests with Anzac Day marches — but he has doubled down with another audacious comparison.

CONTROVERSIAL Greens councillor Jonathan Sri has been condemned by veterans and across the political divide after comparing protesters’ repeated illegal blockades of Brisbane streets to the nation’s Anzac Day parades.

But the councillor has been backed in by Greens federal leader Richard Di Natale, who said it was a factually accurate point that often streets were closed off or blocked off because of public functions.

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The Courier-Mail revealed the councillor had defended the protests as a legitimate means of political pressure and added “a whole range of parades and events (eg Anzac Day marches) block Brisbane streets all the time”.

Greens councillor Jonathan Sri says his comments have been “blown out of proportion”.

Mr Sri yesterday dug in, saying his comments were blown out of proportion, before comparing the protesters’ actions with those of Martin Luther King Jr.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said comparing the 103-year-old commemoration with activists who were disrupting the city was disrespectful and repugnant to all servicemen and women and their families.

Federal Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles said the Greens should apologise immediately and show more respect.

But Greens federal leader Richard Di Natale defended Cr Sri, denying any comparison was made.

“He made a factually accurate point that often streets are closed off or blocked off because of public functions,” Senator Di Natale said.

West End Traders Association president Peter Marinelli said Cr Sri seemed intent on playing politics rather than focusing on his responsibilities as a councillor.

And Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk weighed in, saying while people had a right to protest, but not to stop people going about their daily business.

The Senate joined the growing chorus condemning Cr Sri, passing a strongly worded motion, moved by Susan McDonald and Queensland LNP Senators, taking aim at the hypocrisy of extremist protesters and backing Queensland’s coal industry.

Councillor Jonathan Sri’s comments linking protesters blocking Brisbane Streets to Anzac Day Marches have drawn widespread criticism.

Cr Sri, who yesterday lost a proposed motion for Brisbane City Council to declare a “climate emergency”, said his comments had been “deliberately blown out of proportion”.

“I wasn’t intending to make a direct comparison to military personnel and I’m genuinely sorry people took it that way, but I encourage them to read the full post in its original context rather than relying on sensationalist misreporting,” he said.

“The brave activists blocking roads have a lot more in common with people like Martin Luther King, who used similar tactics and was criticised at the time, but is now seen as a hero.”

Dr King led a 1965 march on to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.