Victoria Police descend on Melbourne CBD as protesters gather for Invasion Day rally
A group of neo-Nazis marched down Olympic Boulevard before the men’s tennis final while tens of thousands of Invasion Day protesters brought the city to a standstill.
Victoria
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Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside Flinders Street Station and marched through the streets as part of the Invasion Day Rally in Melbourne CBD.
People watched on as protesters brought much of the city centre to a standstill as they circled at the Flinders St and Swanston St intersection before 1pm on Sunday.
At the same time, a group of about 70 neo-Nazis gathered at Olympic Park Oval – opposite the entrance of the Australian Open – to host a counter-protest.
The group, including white supremacist Jacob Hersant, marched down Olympic Boulevard waving the Australian flag, the Red Ensign flag and Eureka flag.
Victoria Police said in a statement between 50 to 70 people attended the ‘pro-Australia Day rally’ in Gosch’s Paddock and there were no arrests.
At Flinders St, Warlpiri woman Samara Fernandez-Brown and Aboriginal Australian activist Uncle Robbie Thorpe were among a group of speakers, addressing deaths in custody and historical genocide against Indigenous people.
Earlier, attendees chanted through megaphones and waved Aboriginal flags as they were flanked by dozens of police officers and police vehicles while marching from Spring St.
One attendee was overhead on a megaphone heard saying: “No justice, no peace, no racist police”, while another was seen hoisting a “Not Our King” sign above his head, featuring photos of King Charles’ hands and senator Lidia Thorpe.
The march stalled briefly at Bourke Street Mall as pro-Palestine members in the crowd chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Police stood guard outside the entrance to Melbourne East Police Station and a Starbucks cafe along Swanston St, weeks after the store was targeted by pro-Palestine protesters.
Several officers were spotted outside the entrance, filtering customers as they came through.
Trams along Spring St have been stopped, with lines set to reopen around 4pm this afternoon.
A Victoria Police statement said there were about 25,000 people at the rally and no arrests.
A small group of protesters also turned up outside Government House on Sunday ahead of the official flag raising ceremony with Premier Jacinta Allan.
Donning Aboriginal, Torres Strait and Palestinian flags, early event-goers began setting up on the steps of state parliament just after 9am Sunday as two bus loads of police arrived.
Just one hour later, hundreds had already gathered on Spring St and the surrounding area.
A smoking ceremony commenced moments before the scheduled 10am start, with gumtree leaves sprinkled on the steps of parliament.
Many revellers were seen brandishing colourful signs and slogans in support of the Invasion Day protest, calling out Australia and Australia Day.
“Aboriginal Land Back” one sign read, “always has, always will be” read another.
Many were also seen wearing traditional keffiyehs and hoisting pro-Palestinian signage.
“Australia: Stolen Land. Palestine: Stolen Land,” one read.
Organiser and Mbarbarun woman Caroline Kell said she expected as many as 30,000 people to join in the rally today, adding it was a “growing movement”.
“Today we are gathering in our thousands to rise and resist together to mourn the loss of life and culture, but also to celebrate our existence and resistance as Aboriginal, sovereign people of this land,” Ms Kell said.
She said rally-goers would be marching “loudly and proudly” through the city streets.
“This movement behind me is only going to continue to grow as we are seeing here and across the world,” she said.
Monash University assistant lecturer and Free Palestine Coalition Tasniim Nahmoud Sammak echoed calls against those at the Australian Open on Sunday, labelling those in attendance as “fascists”.
“But here this year, we will unite together, we will unite the fight, and we will take on the right and we will take on the fascists who are gathering that Rod Laver Arena,” Ms Nahmoud Sammak said.
“They’ve come out today with Australian pride, with fascist pride because that is what this day represents to this colony, actually, when we talk about what the narrative is of this nation.
“It’s a racist nation, a colonial nation and they have the remnants and representation of that … we will not allow them to win.”
In a fiery speech delivered to those outside parliament, Ms Nahmoud Sammak likened the fight for treaty for Aboriginal people in Australia to that of the ceasefire in Palestine.
She also said she would not allow opposition leader Peter Dutton to win at the next election
Over 2,000 people have suggested their interest in the rally on Facebook alone, but estimates suggest tens of thousands of people will join the rally, and proceeding march, through the city.
One woman, who wished not to be named, told the Herald Sun she thought it was “disgusting” that people still accepted January 26 as Australia Day.
“It needs to be changed to another date,” she said.
Today’s rally will mark the fourth Invasion Day rally she has been apart of, adding that she believed the rallies had grown in size and popularity over the past four years.
“I believe slowly, the community is coming around,” she said.
Originally published as Victoria Police descend on Melbourne CBD as protesters gather for Invasion Day rally
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