Anti-lockdown protest outside Australian Open in Melbourne Park

Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters gathered in Melbourne’s CBD on Friday night as mounted police tried to control the crowd.

Anti-lockdown protesters gathered outside the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on Friday night, hours before the state’s “circuit breaker restrictions” kick in.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced a five-day lockdown from 11.59pm on Friday until 11.59pm on Wednesday due to a “hyper-infectious” outbreak of COVID-19 cases at the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport.

Victoria Police were at the scene including a line of officers and some mounted officers as hundreds marched through the CBD.

Anti-lockdown protest. Crowd is on the move. Organisers say they’re going to the Australian Open. @9NewsMelbpic.twitter.com/3qZbKxBZGY

— Eliza Rugg (@Eliza_Rugg9) February 12, 2021

When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.

Anti-lockdown Protests Melbourne pic.twitter.com/nwv6wtrkam

— PELHAM3 (@DamoPelham3) February 12, 2021

Some of the crowd were holding signs reading “Victoria Says No”, “Masks Are Muzzles” and “Australia Open, Victoria Closed”.

Masks must be worn everywhere in the state other than inside your home.

It is the third lockdown for Victoria.

In video of the protest shared on Facebook, captioned “Victorians are sick of lockdowns”, protesters could be hearing singing lines from Twister Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”.

When asked about the planned protest earlier on Friday, Mr Andrews told 3AW Melbourne: “Is that like a vaccine, is it? It’s going to suddenly fix everything? No, it’s not. It might well spread the virus, though.”

RELATED: Victoria plunged into 5-day lockdown

Marching to the Australian Open on Friday night. Picture: David Geraghty

A line of Victoria Police officers. Picture: David Geraghty

The Australian Open had been allowing crowds of up to 30,000, but those ceased at midnight.

Nick Kyrgios’ third round blockbuster with Dominic Thiem could well be the last match played with fans this tournament.

Gatherings are not permitted under the new rules.

“I know it’s not the news that Victorians want to hear today. I know it’s not the place that we wanted to be in. However, we’ve all given so much, we’ve all done so much. We’ve built something precious, and we have to make difficult decisions, and do difficult things, in order to defend what we’ve built,” Mr Andrews said.

“I am confident that this short, sharp circuit breaker will be effective. We will be able to smother this. We will be able to prevent it getting away from us.”

RELATED: All states that have slammed borders shut

Some held placards. Picture: David Geraghty

Anti-lockdown protesters march to the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Friday evening Picture: David Geraghty

The lockdown has been met with outrage by businesses and residents alike, and #DictatorDan quickly began trending on Twitter in Australia on Friday.

More “stop-start restrictions will be a bitter disappointment” for the whole Victorian community, Business Council Australia (BCA) chief executive Jennifer Westacott said in a statement.

“We can’t go on managing the country like this. This is the second lockdown caused by Victoria’s hotel quarantine system, it must not be as long and destructive as the last. We must get hotel quarantine working properly,” she said.

“Even a very short lockdown will have monumental social and economic costs.”