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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/aug/28/protest-against-border-force-visa-crackdown-shuts-melbourne-streets-live
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| Chaos in Melbourne as Australian border force cancels visa crackdown after protests – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 3.25pm AEST06:25 | |
| My colleague Melissa Davey has all the latest with our news splash on Operation Fortitude. You can read it in full here: | |
| A controversial operation in Melbourne by the Australian Border Force against people overstaying their visas has been abruptly cancelled following protests. | |
| “Operation Fortitude”, due to take place on Friday night and Saturday, was called off on Friday afternoon amid chaotic scenes. | |
| About 200 people protesting against the Australian border force (ABF) operation blocked the intersection of Flinders Street and Swanston Street in the city, disrupting traffic. | |
| Officers from the ABF and Victoria police had planned a press conference at 2pm Friday outside Flinders Street train station to talk about “Operation Fortitude”, a mass operation taking place on Friday and Saturday targeting those overstaying their visas, with outstanding arrest warrants and being disruptive. | |
| Announcing that the operation has been cancelled, Victoria police said: “We understand there has been a high level of community interest and concern which has been taken into consideration when making this decision. | |
| “Victoria police’s priority is the safety and wellbeing of the whole community and we will continue to work with our partner agencies to achieve this.” | |
| But the operation faced a backlash from Victorians since being announced on Friday morning as fears of racial profiling and unnecessary force began to rise. Many were concerned the operation is heavy handed and unnecessary. | |
| 3.17pm AEST06:17 | |
| Just in case anyone was interested: This morning the Australian border force was also advertising more jobs. | |
| The diversity of our workforce is what strengthens us. Join our dynamic team: http://t.co/PMh1dj67nf pic.twitter.com/TKzs750ufB | |
| Unfortunately you also need to be an Australian citizen. Here’s how they responded to one person who asked: | |
| Unsurprisingly, it turns out you need to be an Australian citizen to actually work for the Australian Border Force pic.twitter.com/JcmqKclh4A | |
| 3.10pm AEST06:10 | |
| Melbourne Lord Mayor welcomes cancellation of Operation Fortitude | |
| Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has just tweeted this update following the cancellation of the operation by Victoria police. | |
| Operation Fortitude cancelled in the City. Good decision by @VictoriaPolice. | |
| The Community and Public Sector Union has also released a statement on the Australian Border Force. They’re concerned because members have contacted them to express alarm at the politicised nature of the operation: | |
| The union representing Australian Border Force workers has welcomed news that Operation Fortitude will not go ahead. The union was contacted by border force members who raised concerns their safety would have been compromised by the publicity surrounding this operation. | |
| CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said: “We have been contacted by border force members deeply concerned about the way their work has been politicised raising safety concerns about the public reaction.” | |
| While border force staff (formerly immigration) have been involved in these types of operations before, they have never been publicised in this way. They were deeply concerned at the suggestion they would be stopping all people on the street, which is not how their work has been done in the past. | |
| Border force staff do important work stopping drug importation, targeting organised crime and terrorism. Making them a public target through this sort of hysteria is completely unacceptable. | |
| This high-profile approach has come as a major shock for border force staff who are frequently instructed not to wear their uniforms in public due to safety concerns. | |
| Their work is challenging under most circumstances but this adds another and unnecessary layer of difficulty to an already taxing task. | |
| We are calling on the federal government to stop cynically exploiting the work of the Australian Border Force for its own political ends, potentially putting these officers at risk. | |
| Updated at 3.22pm AEST | |
| 3.06pm AEST06:06 | |
| The protesters at Flinders Street station are speaking now with my colleague Melissa Davey on Periscope. You can follow on here. | |
| Anti Australian Border Force protesters have claimed victory pic.twitter.com/ouCP0JDe9C | |
| One protester told Davey: “People who speak a second language are now not going to be harassed on trains tomorrow. It’s a fucking win, make some noise!” | |
| Updated at 3.21pm AEST | |
| 3.03pm AEST06:03 | |
| As a point of historical reference, readers may be interested to learn that Operation Fortitude was also the codename for a key operation in the Normandy landings in 1944 that led to the end of the second world war. | |
| The namesake led by the Australian Border Force and the Victorian police does not have quite the historical import, but no doubt will be remembered for other reasons. | |
| Updated at 3.23pm AEST | |
| 3.00pm AEST06:00 | |
| To put things in perspective, this is an excellent Tweet from Will Ockenden that shows just how quickly events moved today: | |
| 10:14am #OperationFortitude announced 12:54pm ABF Clarification 2:26pm Presser cancelled 2:40pm Operation cancelled | |
| Updated at 3.23pm AEST | |
| 2.59pm AEST05:59 | |
| The announcement of Operation Fortitude sparked some pretty reasonable questions about what the powers of Australian border force officers and police really are, and what kind of information they can demand. | |
| Here’s an explainer I prepared earlier of the six key points you need to know: | |
| 1. Do I need to hand over identification if a police officer asks me for it? | |
| Police powers vary from state to state, but in Victoria under the Crimes Act 1958the police generally cannot require an individual to provide identification unless they believe, on reasonable grounds, that they have committed or are suspected of committing an offence, or if they can assist in the investigation of an offence. | |
| If police request your identification, they must provide reasons for their belief to allow you to understand the type of offence and the grounds for their belief. | |
| In New South Wales the police have similar powers. Police can request identification of an unknown person if they suspect on reasonable grounds a person can assist in the investigation of an offence because they were at or near the location where an offence was alleged to have occurred. | |
| 2. What kind of information are police entitled to ask for? | |
| In Victoria police can only ask for your name and address when conducting an identification check. In New South Wales the phrase identity means “the name or residential address of the person (or both)”. | |
| 3. Can police ask for my visa status? | |
| There is no specific power that would compel a person to provide information about their visa status to police. | |
| 2.56pm AEST05:56 | |
| Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has just announced she will hold a press conference to discuss the cancellation of the Australian border force press conference. | |
| She scheduled to speak at 3:30pm AEST. | |
| Updated at 3.00pm AEST | |
| 2.55pm AEST05:55 | |
| More people are now rallying and have entered Flinders St Station to continue to protest. | |
| Protest at Flinders pic.twitter.com/ynQuRTvZ9f | |
| "We shut them up. They're not having their press conference. We're claiming victory" - anti Australian Border Force protesters | |
| 2.51pm AEST05:51 | |
| There are now more than 250 protesters in Melbourne who have gathered to protest the Australian border force and the operation that was scheduled to go ahead this weekend. | |
| They're here now. #OperationFortitude pic.twitter.com/7w5ZaBx1bJ | |
| It's just been announced the #BorderForce press conference has been cancelled #abcnews #lateline pic.twitter.com/GzMyoPx1HT | |
| The protesters are chanting their opposition to the ABF, and are now cheering at the decision to cancel the event. | |
| My colleague Melissa Davey is at Flinders St Station and is now Periscoping the protest. | |
| Updated at 2.59pm AEST | |
| 2.45pm AEST05:45 | 2.45pm AEST05:45 |
| Operation Fortitude now cancelled | Operation Fortitude now cancelled |
| Well, that was a very short-lived police operation. Victoria police have now just sent out another release after the confusion surrounding Operation Fortitude this weekend. | |
| They said on Facebook that this decision was taken due in part to a “high level of community interest” in the operation. | They said on Facebook that this decision was taken due in part to a “high level of community interest” in the operation. |
| Here’s the full statement: | Here’s the full statement: |
| Victoria Police has made a decision not to go ahead with this weekend’s Operation Fortitude. | Victoria Police has made a decision not to go ahead with this weekend’s Operation Fortitude. |
| We understand there has been a high level of community interest and concern which has been taken into consideration when making this decision. | We understand there has been a high level of community interest and concern which has been taken into consideration when making this decision. |
| Victoria Police’s priority is the safety and wellbeing of the whole community and we will continue to work with our partner agencies to achieve this. | Victoria Police’s priority is the safety and wellbeing of the whole community and we will continue to work with our partner agencies to achieve this. |
| Updated at 2.59pm AEST | |
| 2.42pm AEST05:42 | 2.42pm AEST05:42 |
| Confusion over Australian border force press conference | |
| As the protest at Flinders St station grows, we’ve now had completely conflicting comments from Victoria police about whether or not the press conference will go ahead. | |
| Victoria police initially tweeted it was no longer being held, but Crikey reporter Josh Taylor heard otherwise. | |
| Please be advised that the Operation Fortitude media opportunity has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience. | Please be advised that the Operation Fortitude media opportunity has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience. |
| The event is not cancelled, Victoria Police tells me. It'll be inside Flinders St station now. #OperationFortitude | The event is not cancelled, Victoria Police tells me. It'll be inside Flinders St station now. #OperationFortitude |
| Updated at 2.59pm AEST | |
| 2.39pm AEST05:39 | 2.39pm AEST05:39 |
| Good afternoon, and welcome to our coverage of the protests that are capping off what has been a very unfortunate day for the Australian border force (ABF). | |
| Earlier on Friday Australia’s newest super agency, which is a composite of immigration and customs, set out their plans for a major operation in the Melbourne CBD. | Earlier on Friday Australia’s newest super agency, which is a composite of immigration and customs, set out their plans for a major operation in the Melbourne CBD. |
| The release took on the heavy handed tone that has becoming increasingly common in immigration and border protection matters, with the ABF regional commander, Don Smith, saying that officers “will be positioned at various locations around the CBD speaking with any individual we cross paths with”. | |
| It added that: ““You need to be aware of the conditions of your visa; if you commit visa fraud you should know it’s only a matter of time before you’re caught out” | It added that: ““You need to be aware of the conditions of your visa; if you commit visa fraud you should know it’s only a matter of time before you’re caught out” |
| Although it did not say so expressly, the announcement drew immediate concerns that it would lead to widespread spot checks of visas in the city. | Although it did not say so expressly, the announcement drew immediate concerns that it would lead to widespread spot checks of visas in the city. |
| A protest is now occurring at Flinders St Station where a press conference was due to be held. | A protest is now occurring at Flinders St Station where a press conference was due to be held. |
| Updated at 2.58pm AEST |