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Police fear brawls between activists on a day of rallies across Australia Police deploy pepper spray but fears of brawls between activists fail to materialise on Australia’s day of protests
(about 8 hours later)
Marchers say they are protesting against government corruption while Indigenous and pro-Palestinian groups take to streets against racism One group of marchers complained about vaccines while Indigenous and pro-Palestinian groups took to streets against racism
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Police are preparing for potential violence as several groups plan to shut down streets in protests across Australia on Saturday. Fears of violent scenes at rallies across Australian capital cities on Saturday failed to materialise as just a fraction of those predicted to attend protests and counter-protests showed up.
National rallies will be staged under the Australia Unites banner, made up of several splinter groups. Police in Victoria had been preparing for potential violence, fearing a repeat of the scenes in Melbourne in August, when violent brawls broke out between anti-immigration protesters and anti-fascism groups.
Organisers said the turnout would highlight Australians’ displeasure over worsening cost-of-living pressures, declining health outcomes, rising violence, financial strain and environmental policies that serve corporations.
Their website says the march is against “government corruption” and lists disparate concerns including the social media ban, the implementation of a digital ID, “land grabs and over-regulation” of farmers, the WHO pandemic treaty and a call for immigration reform.
Many of the groups listed as march organisers under the Australia Unites banner promote anti-vaccine messages. Some groups advocate against trans rights, with one that calls for “an immediate cease to radical gender theory… being taught in the school system”.
Indigenous and Palestinian activist groups have planned a separate National Day of Action against racism and fascism, in many of the same cities, which they say is in response to neo-Nazis allegedly raiding an Indigenous camp, Camp Sovereignty, in Melbourne on 31 August.
“This attack was not just on a camp - it was an attack on Aboriginal sovereignty, on the fight for justice, and on every community that stands against racism and fascism in this country,” said the organisers.
Organisers of both rallies say they will be peaceful.
The Uniting Australians rally has said on its website that “Neo-Nazis are not welcome – no racism or any acts of hate or violence will be tolerated in any capacity.”
However, police in Victoria anticipate troublemakers among far-left and far-right groups may use the protests as an excuse to pick a fight.
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Violent brawls broke out between anti-immigration protesters and anti-fascism groups at protests in August in Melbourne, which led to police deploying pepper spray to separate demonstrators. On Saturday, police mostly succeeded in keeping opposing groups separate, intervening several times and deploying pepper spray.
A group of men dressed in black had clashed with people at Camp Sovereignty in King’s Domain on 31 August, after the anti-immigration March for Australia rally in the city. Officers deployed in Melbourne had been granted extra powers to search people for weapons and to direct people to remove face coverings.
The camp is a burial site with the remains of Indigenous people from 38 clans. It was first created in 2006 to coincide with the Commonwealth Games and re-established in 2024. About 2,500 people from multiple groups turned up to the rally. Victoria police said a 29-year-old man was arrested for criminal damage after an alleged graffiti incident, while another was interviewed about graffiti and released pending summons.
Ten men, some with links to neo-Nazi groups, have been arrested and charged in relation to the alleged assaults and affray. The groups “dissipated peacefully at the conclusion of the protests”, police said.
Victoria police said among the four groups set to turn out, those with far-right and extreme ideologies, as well as far-left and opposing views, would seek conflict and confront each other. Police also intervened when a protester attempted to enter Camp Sovereignty, which had been stormed after the 31 August rally.
They could not discount the chance neo-Nazis would again take to the streets while a leader in the group remains behind bars. Some of the national rallies were staged under the Australia Unites banner, made up of several splinter groups united under the cause of opposing “government corruption”. Speakers at the rally in Melbourne and Sydney were mostly concerned with Covid-era complaints, and with the shooting of Charlie Kirk in the US.
The Victorian attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, said the government supported peaceful protest but rebuked any protesters who planned to engage in harm and violence. Many of the groups listed as march organisers under the Australia Unites banner promote anti-vaccine messages. Some groups advocate against trans rights, with one that calls for “an immediate cease to radical gender theory … being taught in the school system”.
“Do not ever use the cloak of protest to go out there and cause crime,” she said. Indigenous and Palestinian activist groups held counter-protests – a National Day of Action against racism and fascism – in many of the same cities, which they said was in response to neo-Nazis allegedly raiding Camp Sovereignty.
“There is no place for protests that spread harm, that spread hate, that spread fear and violence, and there is certainly no place in Victoria for neo-Nazis.” “This attack was not just on a camp – it was an attack on Aboriginal sovereignty, on the fight for justice, and on every community that stands against racism and fascism in this country,” said the organisers.
Rallies will also occur in Sydney, Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane but their state police forces have not warned of similar clashes. Mary-Joan Liddicoat and Michael Simms, two of the organisers of the Australia Unites rally, had said they expected between 5,000 and 20,000 people to attend in Sydney and that the route had been coordinated by police so as not to cross paths with the Indigenous march.
Officers deployed in Melbourne will have extra powers to search people for weapons and can direct people to remove face coverings.
Mary-Joan Liddicoat and Michael Simms, two of the organisers of the Australia Unites rally, said they expected between 5,000 and 20,000 people to attend in Sydney and that the route had been coordinated by police so as not to cross paths with the Indigenous march.
Liddicoat and Simms said they had also spoken with organisers of the Sydney Indigenous march to make clear their peaceful intentions.Liddicoat and Simms said they had also spoken with organisers of the Sydney Indigenous march to make clear their peaceful intentions.
Organisers of the Sydney Indigenous march said they had concerns about a counter-protest being organised in Hyde Park. Liddicoat and Simms said they had also heard of this planned this counter-protest, but it was being organised by another group, unaffiliated with them. Early estimates from NSW police – which had deployed hundreds of police across the city – put the number of attenders at the Australia Unites march at fewer than 3,000.
There were “no significant incidents”, NSW police said. A 50-year-old man was arrested for breach of the peace, a drone operator was issued a warning for flying in a restricted area, and two people were treated by paramedics, but there were no reports of serious injuries.
Queensland police said about 1,500 people turned up to a rally in Brisbane but about half left before the march, while about 200 people went to an anti-racism rally. There were no arrests or significant issues.
About 700 attended two separate protests in Perth, and there were no incidents reported.
SA police said they were “pleased with the behaviour of the estimated 3,000 attenders at today’s protest activity in the Adelaide CBD”, with no arrests or major disruption.
ACT police said there “was no activity of any significance” they had to attend to
The ABC reported 200-300 people protested in Darwin and about 200 in Canberra, while about 300 people turned up to a First Nations sovereignty event in Hobart.