Rallies loom as further threat to police safety at end of deadly week
There will be little time for rest and reflection.
Protest rallies across the nation are scheduled this Sunday. There are the anti-immigration rallies and these will be met with counter-protesters from other rallies. It will be down to police in all the major cities to keep these people apart.
Let me say, everyone in this country has a democratic right to protest, but fundamental decency dictates the rallies be cancelled or postponed.
But decency is not their strong suit.
For the purposes of this column, the two groups are the anti-immigration lot and the Free Palestine brigade.
The former is infested with neo-Nazis and we know this from social media where prominent neo-Nazis have been cheering the protest on.
Nazis are publicity shy for the most part, but it is clear they have been behind the organisation of the nationwide anti-immigration rallies in some capital cities.
Many figures within the freedom movement have vowed to stay at home on the basis that, while they may hold strong views about immigration rates in Australia, they don’t want to be seen marching alongside masked men dressed tip-to-toe in black screeching out racist and anti-Semitic epithets.
The latter is your common or garden left wing collective – socialists, anarchists, professional protesters. It goes without saying that the Free Palestine lot are experienced marchers. They have been rallying almost weekly in recent times in mostly peaceful rallies. They know the routines in terms of seeking permits to march and can assemble a throng of people in quick time. My guess is they will outnumber those at the anti-immigration rallies.
Social media is buzzing with TikTok heroes and other keyboard warriors hinting at violent exchanges. The leftists call it yarding, confronting their enemies on enemy turf. In the middle of it all, stand police charged with separating them and keeping people safe.
Observers should avoid leaping to quick judgment. Police cannot wade in at a rally when the slightest sign of criminality shows itself, like the appearance of a Hezbollah flag, for example. Police have to make regular, on the ground, real-time risk assessments.
Now, I’m no protester. In my view, protesting, to paraphrase Mark Twain or possibly Oscar Wilde, spoils a good walk. But I have seen police crowd control in action.
I recall an Ashes Test on Boxing Day many years ago. England batted first and the tedious Chris Tavare batted all day for 70-odd not out. It was hot and the beer was flowing, these being the days before the dreaded light beer only in plastic cups were served up.
The crowd was both in a state of advanced refreshment and growing frustration. In Bay 13, a gentleman bearing a Union Jack vest had been badgering the local crowd all day. It was amusing at first, but as the day wore on it became irritating to those in his vicinity. Just after tea, one fellow had finally reached breaking point, wound back and cracked the cheeky Englishman on the point of the jaw, sending him sprawling over two rows of the old wooden seats at the G.
Two young constables, accompanied by a burly senior sergeant made their way down the aisle. It looked ominous. The arrest of the offending puncher looked imminent and the crowd buzzed and booed in anticipation. The senior sergeant simply grabbed the dazed Englishman and frog-marched him out of the Southern Stand to the cheers of thousands.
It was a fine example of good risk assessment. The same principles apply in rallies.
Police safety is the first box to tick. The safety of marches and more broadly to anyone in the area, runs a close second. Weighing in and grabbing miscreants by the collar is likely to turn a bad situation into a raucous one. It’s a mathematical game after all. Police are invariably outnumbered at protests and a cautious approach is needed.
It is worth remembering that at any given time, around a quarter of the total of all police officers, across all states and territories are off work having suffered physical and often psychological injuries.
A large contingent of Victoria’s Police, many in a state of distress at the events in Porepunkah will be obliged to front up on the streets of Melbourne CBD.
A spokesperson for VicPol said, “Victoria Police is planning a significant operational response to several planned protests in Melbourne on Sunday, August 31. Given the nature of one of the protests, police intelligence suggests groups who hold far-right ideologies and extreme views are likely to attend the event. We also hold intelligence to suggest groups with opposing views are planning on attending specifically to confront the other protest. We want anyone planning on attending any of these events to be aware of this information given the potential for conflict.”
On Sunday in Sydney, police will have to keep the two rallies apart while keeping an eye on the Sydney marathon which begins in North Sydney at 6.30am, crosses the bridge, veers into Pyrmont and then onto the eastern suburbs before finishing at the Opera House. Happily, it will be run and done by the time protesters assemble.
NSWPol issued a statement that said in part, “Police will not hesitate to take appropriate action against anyone whose actions risk the safety of others or commits a criminal offence,” police said in a statement.
The marches are scheduled across all major cities. By all means, we should be having conversations about immigration levels in this country. Official figures show the total immigration numbers are now falling at a rate of 100,000 people per year since peaking at 536,000 in 2022-23 with forecasts predicting a return to pre-pandemic levels of 260,000 in the next financial year.
Not that facts matter to protesters on either side of police cordons.
This weekend, I won’t be dwelling on immigration rates. I’ll be thinking of our police officers and the ordeals they have to go through to maintain public order.
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It has been a tough week for police. The deaths of two VicPol officers at Porepunkah while in the service of their duty to the people of Victoria will have our cops across the nation grieving.