Inside maskless Australia Day protest after separate ‘Invasion Day’ marchers blockade CBD streets
More than 100 people — including a dozen in ‘Proud Boys’ shirts — gathered for a maskless, self-described ‘People’s Australia Day Parade’.
Victoria
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Almost a dozen people in black and yellow ‘Proud Boys’ shirts were among about 100 gathered in Victoria Gardens on Tuesday afternoon for a self-described ‘People’s Australia Day Parade’.
Earlier in the day a man wearing a similar black-and-yellow Proud Boys shirt was earlier seen crashing an Invasion Day protest attended by thousands in Melbourne’s CBD, before being dragged away by police.
Those gathered in Victoria Gardens from 2pm on Tuesday wore Australian flags draped around their shoulder and on headbands.
One man wore a ‘Sack Dan Andrews’ shirt.
No one was wearing a mask.
The group set off on a march about 2.45pm to Catani Gardens near St Kilda Beach for a planned beach party.
Police officers watched the gathering from a distance but allowed the group to meet and then march to St Kilda.
It is not believed anyone was charged.
The Proud Boys is a far-right men-only organisation which was formed in 2016 in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, for self-described “Western chauvinists” who believe white men are under threat.
THOUSANDS SWARM CBD FOR ‘INVASION DAY’ RALLY
Thousands of ‘Invasion Day’ protesters swarmed Melbourne’s CBD on Tuesday despite warnings mass gathering could put the community at risk.
Demonstrators brought traffic to a standstill as they marched down Bourke, Swanston and Flinders streets from state parliament in defiance of January 26 celebrations.
Protesters were split into groups of 100 in a bid to comply with COVID social distancing rules.
The rally was organised by the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, the same group that organised the controversial BlackLives Matter rally in June.
It attracted a huge police presence which jumped into action when counter protesters arrived.
More than two dozen officers ran into a Flinders Street crowd to tackle and forcibly remove a pro-Australia Day protester about 1pm.
The man had an Australian flag draped across his shoulders and was wearing a shirt that said ‘Proud Boys’ – a neo-fascist organisation linked to white nationalism in the United States.
Police confirmed no arrests were made but said two men — one believed to be far-right commentator Avi Yemini — were “detained for a short period in relation to breach of the peace and released without charge a short time later”.
“Police were pleased with the behaviour of those that attended,” the force said.
Protesters carried signs which read “Kill the colony”, “Not Your Land” and “Australia is a crime scene” during the rally.
Lidia Thorpe, Victoria’s first Indigenous senator, told the crowd there was a “far-right rot” in federal parliament that was “stoking the fire” of racism.
“I see that racism when I’m in that place,” she said.
“There is a far-right rot in this country’s parliament. They are stoking the fire of the far-right racism in this country.”
She said the “war had not ended” and called for a treaty between the Australian government and Aboriginal people.
“Our babies are still being stolen,” she said.
“Our babies are still being locked up and incarcerated. Ten-year-old babies are being locked up in this country.”
Her fiery words followed Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s controversial decision to attend the Kings Domain Invasion Day dawn service.
Ms Capp’s deputy, Nicholas Reece, defended her appearance, saying supporting the dawn service was part of Melbourne City Council’s “commitment to reconciliation and truth-telling (on a) historical Day of Mourning for Aboriginal people”.
Indigenous activist Bill Nicholson commenced proceedings at 11.20am with a smoking ceremony.
“We are not born bad,” he said.
“It must be something else. It is these imposed structures they refuse to break to give us equal opportunity.
“To the mob out there, keep fighting for self-determination.”
Countless attendees dressed up wearing colours of the Aboriginal flag, while some sported face paint in red, yellow and black.
Some carried placards saying: “kill the colony”, “ACAB” and “close your legs to white privilege”.
All in the crowd were wearing face masks.
It comes after organisers took to Facebook to spread event details, saying January 26 is “rooted in colonial violence” and should be seen as a day of mourning for First Nations people.
“We invite you to stand with us to abolish Australia Day,” the post read.
“Today is a day of mourning for our people and marks a day of resistance against the British invasion.
“January 26 is rooted in colonial violence and genocide, and not a day to celebrate.”
Organisers have encouraged the crowd to follow the “COVID-safe” plan.
They say the rally cannot start until COVID-safe measurements are enacted.
“The police are watching us very closely,” organiser Meriki Onus said.
At 10.50am, marshals began to divide the crowd into groups of 100.
TIM SMITH SLAMS MASS CBD PROTEST
State Opposition frontbencher Tim Smith slammed the mass protest, saying it shouldn’t be allowed given the rules banning gatherings of more than 100 people outdoors.
“The rules should be applied equally to everyone,” he said after attending a citizenship ceremony in Hawthorn.
“Whatever the cause may be, however reasonable the cause may be, no one should be protesting.”
Mr Smith said it was similar to the Black Lives Matter protest in June when 10,000 people marched but only three got arrested.
“Yet a woman got arrested in her pyjamas in front of her children, stupidly I might add, for advertising an anti-lockdown protest on her Facebook page.”
“There’s just no consistency in the application of these rules in Victoria.”
Mr Smith also took a swipe at Lord Mayor Sally Capp for attending an “Invasion Day” dawn service near the CBD.
“It’s divisive, it’s unnecessary, I condemn it,” he said.
“Of course acknowledging the hurt and the past harms done to the indigenous people of this country absolutely is part of Australia Day, that is reconciliation at its very core.”
“But surely for a leader like the Lord Mayor of Melbourne to attend such a thing is divisive and wrong.”
LORD MAYOR ATTENDS ‘INVASION DAY’ DAWN SERVICE
The events come hours after Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp joined activists at a dawn service to mark “Invasion Day”.
Dozens of people braved the rain to attend the event at Kings Domain at 5.30am, which organisers said was a commemoration of “all Sovereign First Peoples who defended and died in the Frontier Wars, massacres across Australia, as well as those who continue to die in custody to this day”.
It comes after the city council came under fire for supporting the event, providing logistic and COVID-safety support.
Ms Capp’s deputy, Nicholas Reece, said on social media that supporting the “Invasion Day Dawn Service” was part of the council’s “commitment to reconciliation and truth-telling (on a) historical Day of Mourning for Aboriginal people”.
The newly elected council is expected to focus more on Indigenous issues, including reviewing its stance on Melbourne Day, which celebrates the arrival of the area’s first European settlers on August 26, 1835.
In recent years the council has pulled funding from Melbourne Day, despite the event routinely including a ceremony and talk given by local Aboriginal community leaders.
POLICE PREPARE FOR PROTESTS
Meanwhile, Melbourne’s “Invasion Day” rally has attracted a significant police presence in the CBD.
It has led to some police stations across metropolitan Melbourne being shut for the day.
Fitzroy and Collingwood police stations have both been shut, it can be revealed.
Victoria Police said in a statement that “a number” of stations will be closed or suspending their reception counter service while officers are deployed to border checkpoints and the mandatory quarantine program.
“Police response and our service delivery to the community will remain unchanged,” the statement said.
“These measures will apply to a number of stations across Victoria, however this figure is constantly changing due to the fluid nature of police resourcing requirements.”
While the official Australia Day parade has been cancelled, thousands of people have registered interest in attending a series of protests despite the ongoing 100 person limit on public gatherings.
An “Invasion Day Melbourne 2021” rally, Indigenous activists who controversially organised Melbourne’s Black Lives Matter rally in June, has attracted more than 6000 interested participants.
Indigenous activist Meriki Onus posted to Twitter to spruik the event, targeting Parliament House, and urged participants to follow COVID regulations.
“You must organise in groups of 100 and each group of 100 must stay 10 meters apart as directed by the marshals on the day,” Ms Onus posted to Twitter.
“Everyone must follow the directions of the marshals on the day who will implement the COVID safety plan.
“This march is a COVID safe event and we have a COVID safety plan that all attendees must follow. Your safety and the safety of the community is important to us.”
NO TIME TO BE PROTESTING: PREMIER
Premier Daniel Andrews warned people planning events on January 26 that they must be safe and within the rules.
“Now this will be a different Australia Day because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic,” he said last Thursday.
“This is not a commentary on what people might be protesting about but it’s no time to be protesting.”
In June 2020, only three people were fined for attending the Black Lives Matter protest including Ms Onus as well as RMIT academic Dr Crystal McKinnon and Indigenous activist Tarneen Onus Williams.
Ms Onus Williams became prominent in 2018 when she said: “F--- Australia, hope it burns to the ground” during a rally on January 26.
A government spokesman said Mr Andrews would mark the day by attending an official function at Government House.
“Australia Day means many different things to many different people. For Aboriginal people in particular, we acknowledge the 26th of January can be a difficult day,” she said.
“Symbols are important, but action is what matters most – advancing the Treaty process with Aboriginal Victorians to create a fairer future for First Peoples.
“At the same time, here in Victoria, we try to get the balance right and get on with marking the day in a unifying way.”
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