Thousands attend anti-vaccination rally in Brisbane as Clive Palmer addresses crowd

The “People’s Revolution” rally in Brisbane on Saturday attracted the likes of Clive Palmer and many protesters who criticised Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the media.

Thousands arrived at midday for the protest march, which started in the CBD’s Botanic Gardens and progressed through the city streets.

One protester yelled “hang the bitch” at the rally when the speaker began talking about Ms Palaszczuk.

Protesters gathered in Brisbane to oppose vaccine mandates and call for borders to reopen.Credit: Cloe Read

Others held fascist-styled signs of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Ms Palaszczuk.

The crowd was said to be the biggest the city had seen at a protest of this kind. The protesters regularly chanted to “open the borders”.

Queensland businessman and United Australia Party founder Clive Palmer also addressed the crowd.

“Our rights don’t come from [West Australian Premier] Mark McGowan, our rights don’t come from ‘Palachook’ ... and our freedom doesn’t come from [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison, our freedom doesn’t come from [Opposition Leader] Anthony Albanese and our freedom certainly doesn’t come from [Deputy PM] Barnaby Joyce,” Mr Palmer said to cheers from the crowd.

“The Queensland Police Commissioner [Katarina Carroll] has given exemptions from her direction that all police be vaccinated to 196 commissioned officers in the police force.”

Ms Carroll has previously rejected claims from Mr Palmer she had exempted herself and has added proof of her vaccination status on her social media.

Clive Palmer (centre) attended the Brisbane rally on Saturday.Credit: Cloe Read

Mr Palmer told the rally he’d rather “go out of business” than listen to vaccine advice from Queensland’s Premier while also saying Mr Morrison was “bullshitting” people.

When asked by the event speaker about advice for business owners concerned about the vaccine mandate, he replied, “I’d go out of business rather than listen to what ‘Palachook’ wants to do.”

He later told the crowd that the Australian people would not be silenced, and also criticised Mr Morrison, saying he had “abandoned Australia”.

“Craig Kelly introduced in the House of Representatives two bills in the last sitting of parliament,” he said.

“One of them was to outlaw mandatory vaccinations. The other was to outlaw vaccine passports.

“Yet today, Morrison said he’s against what the Queensland government can do.

“Why won’t he let the Liberals vote for those bills – because he won’t – because he’s bullshitting and he’s lying to you.”

He earlier told Brisbane Times that he was at the protest to support the people’s freedom of choice.

“It’s not a question of vaccinated or unvaccinated, it’s a question of freedom of choice,” he said.

Mr Palmer said Mr Morrison was “just a liar” in regard to businesses being forced to abide by the vaccine mandate.

“He’s pushing businesses to get people to get vaccinated but at the same time saying everyone should have their right to choose,” he said.

“But you don’t have a choice when you’ve got five children and a mortgage to pay.”

Speaking at a similar rally in Mackay, federal Dawson Nationals MP George Christensen called Daniel Andrews a “real threat”.

“He had a bill before Parliament that the legal fraternity thought was that offensive that a whole heap of...senior legal people wrote an open letter saying that that legislation was the antithesis of democracy because it gave one person in Victoria the ability to rule all sorts of things, lockdowns, curfews, whatever they wanted against any class of people,” he said.

He said segregating people based on their private medical records was “wrong”.

As of 6pm on Saturday, there had been no arrests at the Brisbane protest.