‘Anti-government’ freedom rally protesters have new Australian targets

With lockdowns over, the protesters who clashed in the streets with police are taking on surprising new targets. See what will happen in Australia next.

New conflicts loom for many of those who took part in Covid protests. Picture: David Swift

Exclusive: Climate change, local government and transgender issues are emerging as the new battlegrounds for “highly conspiratorial and extremist” Australians.

A study has revealed freedom rally protesters were not as fixated on the Covid mandates as they claimed to be, but were driven by a fierce anti-government agenda that has quickly taken on new targets.

The insights were gleaned by researchers who delved into thousands of messages on the Melbourne Freedom Rally Telegram account.

AVERT Research Network members Lydia Khalil and Josh Roose’s study about the anti-lockdown freedom movement published in Perspectives on Terrorism found some protesters remained fixated by conspiratorial worldviews and were intent on violent activity.

Freedom rally protests were held in cities throughout Australia during the pandemic. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Brendan Beckett

Ms Khalil said there was a “cherry picking” underway to “leverage issues of the day”.

“They just are looking for particular issues and avenues to enact that agenda. And now that lockdowns aren’t around anymore, they’re just moving on to other issues,” she said.

Some are now targeting councils through the My Place movement, with dozens of council meetings throughout Australia disrupted – and some having to hire security guards for protection.

The transgender community is feeling the brunt of a campaign against it with drag queen events subjected to protests, while there has been an alarming rise of so-called sovereign citizens who reject to obey Australian laws.

Lydia Khalil. Picture: Lowy Institute

Dr Josh Roose.

“The rhetoric of those groups, at least publicly, was that they were concerned about democracy and civil liberties [being abused] … and that the pandemic restrictions were basically used as an excuse by the government to do that,” Ms Khalil said.

But they found communication between members was not about that. “It was striking how much of it was conspiratorial,” she said.

Ms Khalil said institutions were being targeted by protesters who believe they are run by “elites” who control governments.

Covid protests are over, but new conflicts have replaced them. Picture: David Swift

Anti-trans activists outside the Tasmanian Parliament as Equality Tasmania and LGBTQI+ supporters counter protest the Let Women Speak rally. Picture: Chris Kidd

“That’s part of their broader conspiracy, which is that governments are hopelessly corrupted,” she said.

Research co-author Josh Roose said climate change would help fuel conspiracy theories.

“Post bushfires, post floods, we’ve seen the emergence of these sovereign citizens, for example,” Dr Roose said.

As the climate worsened, more tension with conspiracy groups was inevitable because they believed governments were using the climate disasters to control them.

“We’re going to see more and more governments really struggle to keep as conspiracy theories emerge, because what government has traditionally been based upon is trust from the people,” he said.

Dr Roose said getting an improved economy particularly around wages and housing was crucial in helping prevent people slide down the rabbit hole.

Climate change is looming as a possible trigger for new conspiracy theories. Picture: Contributed

“We‘re at a pretty critical moment … If people feel like they’re doing well in life, they’re not going to be drawn to these narratives that are based on anger and hatred,” he said.

Many of the Telegram messages called for violence, especially on politicians, with one calling for violent acts on state premiers, while the police were labelled “paid murderers”.

One post urged supporters to continue their fight.

“What happens next? We continue to fight for the people. We continue to learn and educate. And we definitely, definitely unite,” the post said.

Originally published as ‘Anti-government’ freedom rally protesters have new Australian targets