Police called after Liberal Party meeting descends into brawl in Sydney cafe

POLICE and paramedics were called to a Sydney cafe after a Liberal Party branch meeting descended into a brawl last night.

Police and paramedics were called to a Sydney cafe after a Liberal Party branch meeting descended into a brawl last night.

POLICE and paramedics were called to a Sydney cafe after a Liberal Party branch meeting descended into a brawl last night.

The brawl erupted at Naji’s Cafe in Sydney’s south, where a Liberal Party branch meeting was taking place on the eve of the state budget.

Officers “saw numerous people running from the location” when they arrived at the Arncliffe business about 7pm on Monday, NSW Police said.

A man in his 40s was taken to St George Hospital with minor injuries, and an elderly woman was allegedly pushed to the ground.

“Police are now attempting to piece together exactly what happened and how many people were involved,” NSW Police said in a statement.

They urged anyone with footage of the incident to contact authorities.

Arncliffe is in the federal seat of Barton and the state seat of Rockdale, which are both held by Labor MPs.

An alleged victim of a bashing at Arncliffe.

In a statement, a Liberal Party spokesman said the party was aware of the incident and was co-operating with police.

“The Party will fully co-operate with the police in relation to their inquiries. An internal investigation will also be undertaken and disciplinary action taken against those responsible,” the statement said. “The Liberal Party strongly condemns the kind of behaviour that is alleged to have occurred.”

A witness told the ABC the brawl started when people affiliated with the cafe blocked the entrance to the meeting.

He said an elderly woman inside the cafe was “tramped on”, and a man who tried to stop the fight was “ganged up on”.

“They started bashing him … they took him outside and started kicking him,” the witness said. “To be honest, I thought he was going to die.”

He also claimed some people tried to film the incident, but their phones were taken and smashed.

The brawl comes ahead of Tuesday’s state budget, with Treasurer Dominic Perrottet planning to mix record infrastructure spend with tax cuts and concessions.