Police appear to be going hard and fast in their response today - questioning and arresting people on arrival.
Still a sizeable number of people marching through Melbourne's CBD shown in this live stream 👇
People are chanting "every day" in reference to a flyer issued by a Melbourne anti-lockdown group yesterday asking people to protest every day until their 'demands' are met.
People are marching right down the middle of the road, setting off flares and blocking traffic.
A few minutes ago, police were shooting tear gas at protesters in attempts to disperse them
People are now marching on the Shrine of Remembrance - a war memorial in Victoria.
Huge crowds on a day the state has recorded 628 local coronavirus cases and three deaths.
People are now singing the national anthem and chanting "f--- Dan Andrews."
Big confusion happening. Protesters thought the police were taking a knee. People came down from the memorial and got on their knees asking police: "join us".
It appears police were just readjusting their shields/gear.
Police have issued several warnings to protesters to leave the war memorial. Some are refusing to leave.
RSL Victoria has issued a statement condemning protesters who have congregated at The Shrine of Remembrance.
"They are completely disrespecting the sanctity of this time honoured place."
There is some tension between protesters at the moment. Some want to move on but others are refusing to leave.
This man, who sadly didn't provide his name or title, spoke briefly. He asked people to "respect the soldiers and the fallen" and get down from the Shrine.
Mounted police are here now. Some protesters have yelled "hold the line" and are standing on the war memorial building.
Other protesters are angrily jeering at police.
Police are moving in on the war memorial. They are again asking protesters to move on.
Some unmasked protesters are getting very close to police and yelling at them.
Extraordinary scenes on this livestream right now. Police are shooting something at protesters now. Unable to verify exact details.
They've moved protesters off from the Shrine and have largely dispersed the crowd.
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Lots of people are saying Greens gains in Brisbane electorates are due to climate change. That’s part of it but as someone living on the ground here, people are missing the huge grassroots community approach those candidates have led.
The Greens have been holding community forums, providing flood relief and COVID-19 care packages and door-knocking up a storm.
They’ve had thousands of volunteers campaigning for them every weekend. It’s been a massive campaign that was widely underreported.
Atm the LNP have received more votes in Griffith than Labor. Floods were definitely on people’s minds but the Greens have been building momentum in Sth Brisbane since Jonathan Sri was elected local councillor in 2016.
& Greens MP Amy MacMahon was also elected to Qld parliament
Qld seats to watch tonight 👇
- Brisbane
- Ryan
- Longman
- Griffith
- Flynn
- Leichhardt
Other things I’m interested in knowing;
- Will Greens pick up a lower house seat in Qld
- How will Labor go in Qld this time around
- How many Independents will get elected
- Have UAP and One Nation managed to attract more voters with anti-vaccine/mandate sentiment
ABC says LNP will retain Groom in Qld. Results are currently showing One Nation with more votes than Independent Susie Holt (but only 16.8% of the vote has been counted)
1/ Exclusive from me: Australian sex workers have reported police inaction, entrapment and expectation of free services by some officers in a new research paper. sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/…
2/ Some migrant sex workers in states where sex work is yet to be decriminalised said police expected free services in exchange for not reporting them. sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/…
3/ Some sex workers vowed nothing would convince them to contact the authorities, no matter how dire the circumstances. sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/…
New from me: When the pandemic began, the government asked ‘backpackers’ with critical skills to stay and help Australia get through the health crisis.
But these workers have been excluded from the re-opening of international borders next month. sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/…
Midwife Roisin has cared for patients with COVID-19 and gone without seeing her family for 18 months.
She said the decision to exclude temporary visa holders from re-entering Australia feels like "a slap in the face." sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/…
Tom, an emergency department doctor from the UK, believes the government should give temporary visa holders more clarity about what they have “to look forward to” rather than leaving them “in limbo”. sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/…
1/ Fox has interviewed 'Real Rukshan' - a prominent livestreamer who attends anti-lockdown protests
He calls himself an "independent journalist" but is notably popular among the anti-lockdown crowd. In his livestreams, protesters have chanted his name & offered him donations
2/ Rukshan claims he isn't accepting donations. At the protest, he was praised while a Ch7 journalist was attacked by protesters & doused in urine.
Rukshan's livestreams have reached 70k viewers & he's been interviewed by global media, as well as Australia's own 3AW.
3/ In this clip, he compares Melbourne to "Communist China".
There is no mention of protesters smashing up a union building, protesters pelting projectiles at police or the rioting that occurred on Monday. Only the police response is discussed.