Covid-19: Violence after weekend of protests in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Tweed Heads and Coolangatta
Police have clashed with thousands of anti-lockdown protesters attempting to storm the border between Queensland and NSW on the Gold Coast.
Police have clashed with thousands of anti-lockdown protesters trying to storm the border between Queensland and NSW at the Gold Coast, after a weekend of demonstrations saw violence erupt in Melbourne and rallies in Sydney and Brisbane.
Demonstrators converged in Coolangatta in Queensland and Tweed Heads in NSW on Sunday, with a protester riding a horse as another carried a placard of an Adolf Hitler face comparing health restrictions to the Third Reich.
Protesters marched between Boundary St and Cafe D’Bar and the Twin Towns Resort while yelling profanities at police as the man on the horse yelled “Everyone cross the border, they can’t hold all of us”.
A NSW Police Force spokeswoman said eight people were arrested and 54 fines were issued over the protests, which Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said was the “abhorrent actions of the minority”.
“There is no doubt in my mind we risk seeing lockdowns extended, affecting the entirety of NSW, because of actions such as what we’ve seen this afternoon,” he said.
In Melbourne, at least nine police officers were hospitalised after 5000 protesters flooded Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday in what Victoria Police said was one of the most violent demonstrations seen in 20 years.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said most protesters came armed for violence with flares, beer bottles, marbles and ceramic insulators and were “intent on mayhem”.
“One police officer was assaulted, pushed against a wall, and when they went to the ground were repeatedly punched and possibly kicked,” he said.
Mr Patton said an officer remained in hospital and may have to undergo surgery on his leg while a couple had potentially suffered broken noses. He said 250 people had been processed, more than a million dollars worth of fines issued, two people remanded and 19 would be subject to court proceedings.
He defended the use of pepper bullets and spray, saying police needed to de-escalate the situation as protesters threw projectiles at officers.
“Those who confronted police and were involved in it, their conduct was disgraceful,” Mr Patton said. “My police officers … acted appropriately. They defended themselves. They took the necessary action.”
More than 5000 people gathered in the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane’s CBD on Saturday, which Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles blasted as a complete disregard of public health measures.
“Frankly, I’m pretty disgusted,” he said.
In Sydney, more than 1500 police officers on Saturday suppressed a protest of hundreds, fining 260 people and charging 47 as demonstrators gathered at Victoria Park in the inner-city suburb of Camperdown.
Police prevented protesters from attending the Sydney rally by patrolling all major roads leading into the city, pulling over more than 38,000 vehicles and fining more than 130 motorists.
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