Rampaging thugs unleash destructive anarchy on Melbourne

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has warned ‘cowards’ planning more protests today: ‘we will be out in force again. Stay home’.

Protesters march through the streets of Melbourne on Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images

Violent protesters hijacked Melbourne’s gateway bridge and controlled the city for hours, throwing missiles at police, smashing their cars and assaulting onlookers over the shutdown of the state’s $22bn construction industry and mandated Covid-19 vaccinations.

The estimated 2000 protesters – a mix of construction workers, tradesmen, unionists and radical activists – ran police off their feet, with more violence expected on Wednesday and later in the week.

LIVE: Follow the latest developments in our rolling coverage on day 3 of the Melbourne protests

Police arrested 62 people, fired rubber bullets and stinger grenades and blasted scores of people with capsicum spray.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton late on Tuesday condemned the protesters as cowards, and said they would face new tactics on Wednesday.

“My message is really clear – stay away. We will be out in force again. Stay home, I implore you,” Mr Patton said.

Police were outfoxed on Tuesday by a chaotic strategy that involved brisk walking down virtually every major street in the CBD for several hours, making it difficult for police to regroup.

A heavy police presence is seen on Elizabeth Street outside the CFMEU office.

With police off guard after a CBD stand-off, the protest then led to rare scenes, with the West Gate Bridge and freeway lanes blocked for about two hours as hundreds of people – many wearing high vis – commandeered the critical thoroughfare, leading to inner-city gridlock.

The Andrews government’s construction shutdown because of hundreds of Covid-19 cases on building sites and poor compliance among workers will cost the nat­ional economy close to $1bn over two weeks and leave nearly 300,000 workers stood down.

The government also cited the rioting outside the CFMEU Victorian headquarters on Monday as a reason for shutting the sector, which had previously received preferential treatment over other industries during lockdowns.

On the West Gate Bridge, protesters threw objects at passing cars, including rocks and bottles, and hurled abuse when people tried to move. At one point, dozens of protesters charged trapped police cars, apparently smashing at least one window, prompting public order response officers to angrily strike back.

In the mid afternoon, protesters on the West Gate Bridge harassed some drivers but were greeted with beeping horns by others in a state that has endured one of the world’s longest lockdowns. Protesters regularly threw rocks and bottles at police and their horses over nearly eight hours of chaos.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was criticised by the opposition for failing to appear publicly as the anarchy unfolded, starting at the trashed CFMEU headquarters at 10am.

“This is time for political leadership. We do not support violence on our streets,” new Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy said.

After being absent all day, Mr Andrews released a statement late on Tuesday condemning the violence: “Acts of violence and disruption won’t result in one less case of Covid – in fact it only helps the virus to spread.

“Thank you to the brave men and women of Victoria Police for their work today – and every day – to keep our community safe.”

On the West Gate Bridge, protesters threw objects at passing cars, including rocks and bottles, and hurled abuse when people tried to move. Picture: AFP

Protesters brandished signs including “Setka the sellout” and “f..k u Andrews” while others ­paraded flags supporting former US president Donald Trump.

The CFMEU, ACTU and the nurses’ federation condemned the protests and distanced themselves from the demonstrators, who they labelled far-right extremists and anti-vaxxers. 

Roughly half the protesters appeared to be construction or manual workers, many wearing union clothing promoting the CFMEU, the Electrical Trades Union and the plumbers’ union.

Protester Stephen Horvat, a CFMEU member from Doncaster in Melbourne’s east, said he joined the rally to protest peacefully about the push to ban workers who were not fully vaccinated.

“We want to make the point that you can’t push people into medical tyranny,” he said.

Sharon McGrath, owner of Bianco Beauty Skin Body in outer suburban Caroline Springs, said she was protesting against forced vaccinations and the crippling effect of lockdowns. “We are cooked. (Vaccination) has to be our choice,” she said.

It came on a day when Victoria recorded 603 new cases, bringing to 6000 the number of active ­coronavirus cases in the state.

There were 337 cases linked to 154 construction worksites recorded between August 5 and September 20. Among these cases, 239 cases were linked to sites in metropolitan Melbourne. Nine of these cases live in regional Victoria. Seven construction sites are each linked to five or more cases. 

When the protesters turned back towards the CBD, a distance of about 6km from the West Gate, the marchers were confronted on the inbound lanes by about 200 riot police, who made several ­arrests.

Victoria Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas said the government had been forced to shut down the construction industry for two weeks because of appalling behaviour. Picture: AFP

During earlier protests, Seven News reporter Paul Dowsley was attacked and had a drink can thrown at his head while he was reporting live.

He also had urine sprayed on him, according to reports. “I’ve been grabbed around the neck today, I’ve had urine tipped on me, and now I’ve had a can of energy drink thrown on me,” he said.

Victoria Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas said the government had been forced to shut down the construction industry for two weeks because of appalling behaviour on some sites and at Monday’s CFMEU riot.

“We put the industry on notice just a week ago – we have seen ­appalling behaviour on-site and on our streets, and now we’re acting decisively and without hesitation,” he said.

CFMEU Victorian secretary John Setka accused the protesters who attacked his city office on Monday of being made up of mostly right-wing extremists but conceded some unionists were in the group.

The office has been boarded up and one of the protesters left behind a bunch of flowers in what amounts to an ominous warning for the union.

Former federal Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten went further, dismissing agitators as baby Nazis.

“There is a network of hard-right man baby Nazis, people who just want to cause trouble,” he said. “These man babies, they want to complain about the vaccination and they deserve to get the full force of everything that’s coming their way.”