Another five people have been arrested during the second day of planned anti-war protests in Melbourne’s CBD.
Crowds were significantly smaller and calmer today compared to the thousands who took to the streets yesterday, with at least 150 people gathering for the protest.
It comes as a 19-year-old protester who was arrested yesterday has criticised the actions of police, telling 9News that he will continue to exercise his right to protest.
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Aidan Hawe said he would continue to fight against the Victorian government’s decision to host “one of the world’s biggest weapons conferences”.
“The Israeli’s weapons companies, some of which were attendance at Land Forces, have boasted at their weapons being battle tested. As long as our government continues to fund that then of course it’s going to be important to protest that,” he told 9News.
He was arrested alongside 42 people after protest outside the Land Forces Defence Expo at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre turned violent.
The 19-year-old said he was “shocked” by the response of Victoria Police.
“It was completely shocking to see the level of police violence levelled against peaceful anti-war protesters,” he said.
“I think the people who should be in handcuffs should be the people inside that confrence for profiting off of geneoicde death and destruction.
“As long as the Victorian and federal governments continue to spend billions on weapons and war instead of funding health and education, then absoutely we will continue to exercise our demoncratic right to protest.”
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Premier Jacinta Allan today backed the decision to host the event, telling reporters that the city was a fantastic option to host international conferences such as this.
“Melbourne is a great destination because we have the venues, a great hospitality and tourism sector and we also have great people who work in those sectors who support those conferences,” she said.
“They deserve to have a conference pipeline to support the work they do. They are an important part of supporting the events and conferences program.”
The expo was previously held in Brisbane, but was moved to Melbourne following protests in 2022.
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Victoria Police said they were pleased with the behaviour of the demonstrators today.
“Up to 150 protesters gathered through the day nearby the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Officers arrested five people within the vicinity of the event,” police said.
Among those arrested included a 27-year-old Macleod man for possessing a drug of dependence and possessing a prohibited weapon, a modified hockey stick.
A 23-year-old man from Sunbury was issued a penalty notice for possessing a flick knife.
Police also seized bottles of red paint, marbles and bags of small rocks used to create obstacles for the police horses.
There were no injuries to police members today, an improvement from the 24 reported yesterday.
Detectives said they were continuing to investigate “numerous assaults” during yesterday’s protest, including an event attendee.
The 47-year-old man was assaulted and had urine and faeces tipped on him at 9.19am on Spencer Street Bridge when he was trying to enter the event, according to police.
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Police also confirmed several police horses in attendance yesterday have shown signs of skin irritation caused by the liquid substances thrown at mounted branch members.
“It’s believed that protesters targeted the members and their mounts, purposely spraying irritant into the horses’ noses under their face coverings and under the face shields of their riders,” police said.
“While washing down the horses after their shift, several mounted branch members and stable hands also showed signs of skin irritation.
“The specialised uniforms worn by mounted branch members, such as jodhpurs and ballistic vests, were also contaminated and likely will have to be replaced.”
Police Minister Anthony Carbines today labelled a select group of protesters as “thugs”.
“There’s protest activity and then there’s just bar-room brawls and thugs and that’s what we saw yesterday and no-one’s going to stand for that and the police response met that challenge,” he said.
Protests are ongoing across the city tonight and are expected to continue tomorrow, the final day of the expo.
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