Sydney anti-lockdown protest: 150 Central Coast residents attend
A Central Coast cafe has issued a public apology for taking part in the anti-lockdown protest in Sydney, as around 150 coasties are believed to have joined protesters.
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Around 150 Central Coast residents are believed to have made the trip to Sydney for the anti-lockdown protests on Saturday.
Social media went into overdrive over the weekend with people condemning those who attended from the coast.
A Tuggerah Lakes Police District spokesman said no fines had been issued to locals who attended the protest.
However he said that did not mean fines would not be issued as detectives scroll through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, social media posts and vision shot by mainstream media.
Long Jetty’s Modern Organic cafe was closed to the public on Monday after owners Kiran and Kirt Mallie attended the protest and posted images and videos of themselves marching.
The Mallies have since issued a public apology after receiving harsh criticism and even death threats over social media with locals threatening to boycott their business.
“We are so very sorry if our personal actions yesterday are having an impact on you and our community now,” the Mallies posted.
“We are both self isolating for 14 days and will be tested to ensure we are negative before returning to work.”
They urged the community not to take their actions out on the team at Modern Organic.
“They had nothing to do with it and will be managing things for us while we are in isolation, so please be kind to them,” they said. “They are just caught in the cross hairs of our actions and did NOT attend.
“We are devastated that our business has been dragged into it and completely destroyed. To those customers who felt we were personally threatening to you or your family, that was not our intention and we are deeply sorry. We are human and we are paying for our actions. We understand your frustrations and anger are heightened due to the current situation, we get it. We are sorry.”
There were barely any people on the main road of Long Jetty on Monday morning, a far cry from the usual healthy stream of people out for takeaway food and coffee.
Nearby cafe The Glass Onion Society say they have been falsely crucified despite not attending the protest.
Owners Adrian Reynolds and Kelly McDougall said they were at home with their one-year-old son on Saturday and a typo by Ms McDougall on a social media post led the community to believe they attended.
“We didn’t go to the protest,” Mr Reynolds told the Express. “All of a sudden we started getting messages. We’ve been roped in and need to clarify that we were not there.”
The misunderstanding has seen the popular cafe close until Wednesday with staff being threatened and badgered.
“It’s been really tough,” Mr Reynolds said. “Our staff are being abused and some say they don’t want to work here any more … all over a misconception.”
He said businesses in Long Jetty could suffer with people not wanting to attend the area.
“It could do some real damage to the little community down there,” he said.
Young disability worker April Favre posted several pictures of herself and a couple of videos at the protest on Facebook and Instagram.
“We are free!!!! #GreatAwakening thankyou Jesus!!!” Ms Favre posted on Facebook.
Along with the posts were photos of herself holding posters which read, “human trafficking should scare you more than Covid” and “mental health kills more than Covid”.
Ms Favre removed the photos from her Facebook account as people started to condemn her actions.
“Great awakening. You were all a selfish damn disgrace to all. Who have gone before you. Disrespectful,” one person commented.
Attempts to contact Ms Favre were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile Pale Horse Powerlifting gym owner Rhyss Keane was also present at the protest.
Mr Keane, who operates the gym in Wyoming, told the Express he attended “because I’m sick of seeing people so heavily effected by lockdowns to the point where they feel their only option left is suicide once they’ve lost everything”.
“We are losing more lives to the repercussions of lockdown than the actual virus,” he said.
“And in regards to contracting the virus, the issue is – as I said above – the repercussions of lockdown on people’s mental health and livelihoods. I’m not going to argue my views on the virus itself but my views are that what is important is that we get our freedoms back.
“I am not anti vax or anything as people will say, I’m simply pro choice. If you’re afraid of the virus then by all means stay inside and get vaccinated, no judgment here.
“But the rest of us have to put food on the table and pay the bills. I trust my immune system to do its job.”
Central Coast Parliamentary Secretary Adam Crouch said around 150 people travelled from the Central Coast to attend the protest on Saturday.
“Delta spreads incredibly easily even when people follow the rules, so it will spread even more rapidly in unsafe environments like protests,” he said.
“Each one of these people could be the cause of a seeding event in our region which would have disastrous consequences.
Just as we were nearing the end of the Central Coast’s lockdown, the selfishness of the protesters has likely wrecked it for everyone. Only time will tell what sort of impact this has on our region.”
Mr Crouch said 22 detectives had now been tasked with tracking down and charging as many people as possible.
“Penalties for the protesters can include a fine of $11,000 or prison sentence of 6 months,” he said.
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