Melbourne teacher protests fail to gain ground

Planned teacher protests across Melbourne have failed to gain any momentum, with police successfully quashing small crowds across multiple suburbs.

Planned teacher protests across Melbourne have failed to gain any momentum, with police successfully quashing small crowds across multiple suburbs.

Less than 100 protesters gathered at Maribyrnong Park and Knox Shopping Centre on Friday to rally against vaccine mandates, with police quickly moving on the small crowds.

The protests failed to gain any force by 5pm on Friday, with protesters seeming to be outnumbered by police and reporters.

A Reclaim The Line protester is tackled by police at Maribyrnong Park in Maribyrnong. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

The group marched around holding signs, with police closely monitoring.

Two people part of the action were arrested on Friday.

The display was in stark contrast to violent protests attended by large crowds in the city last week, which led to hundreds of people arrested and dozens of police injured.

The protest involved teachers who said they were against jab mandates. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

The group marched around holding signs. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

The protest included teachers who said they were against jab mandates announced for the sector last week.

Deputy Premier and Education Minister James Merlino last week said school staff would need to be vaccinated by the end of November before they could return to face-to-face classes.

Protesters sent a letter to the Department of Education arguing that mandating vaccines was not supportive of all school staff, claiming some would be disadvantaged.

The teachers complained that the mandate was unlawful and should be a choice, amid a small number in the sector still not being vaccinated.

A Department of Education survey found 98 per cent of the 37,000 employees had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

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Originally published as Melbourne teacher protests fail to gain ground