Police cop rocks, bottles as migration protesters clash
Police said they were pelted with rocks, glass bottles and fruit after opposing sides of immigration protests clashed in “unacceptable” scenes.
Victoria Police officers used flash grenades, pepper spray and rubber bullets to control crowds after the protest, which organizers called a mass exodus, brought strong numbers to Melbourne’s CBD.
Inspector Wayne Cheeseman said people at the counter-protest, titled ‘Unity Against Racism: Immigrants and Refugees Welcome’, were “desperately” trying to reach the other demonstration and confront those gathered.
Two police officers were taken to hospital. A female sergeant is suspected to have suffered a broken hand, while a male senior police officer suffered a lacerated leg.
Police said other officers’ protective shields were cracked by the bullets fired.
“The reality is there are probably 40 to 50 hardcore protesters trying to harm the police,” Supt Cheeseman said.
“What concerns me is that they are siding with the larger group and the other group is not intervening, not telling them to stop, so they are offering support in a way that is kind of unacceptable.”
Supt Cheeseman said one person had been arrested and police planned to make further arrests.
He defended the police’s use of force and said that every precaution was taken to disperse the crowd.
“When we start picking up rocks and other objects start being thrown at us, we are very justified in using such mechanisms,” he said.
‘March for Australia’ called for an end to ‘mass migration’, arguing that ‘the ties that hold our communities together have been broken’.
Earlier on Sunday, Immigration Minister Tony Burke acknowledged immigration levels needed to be reduced but said a multi-year target would not be helpful.
He said immigration intake continues to decline and is 40 percent below its peak after the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the Home Office announced plans to set a four-year immigration target, Mr Burke said this would not be the right approach.
“What worries me is if you focus too much on where you’re going to be in the coming years, you’ll miss some of the changing needs of our nation,” Mr Burke told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
In September the federal government announced that 185,000 permanent visas would be issued in 2025/26, with rates unchanged from the previous financial year.
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathon Duniam said the government needed to conduct a systematic process to determine what future immigration levels would look like.
“It’s time for (the government) to be transparent about how they take into account housing, health, education, utilities – all these things – in how they come up with the numbers,” he told Sky News.
The minister emphasized that the debate on immigration should be kept respectful.
“People were talking about getting into dog whistle politics and you’re giving a message and only certain people can actually hear what you’re saying. This isn’t a dog whistle anymore. It’s a series of bag pipes coming from above,” he said.
“We are a multicultural nation and when people anger multicultural Australia, there are many Australian citizens who hear about it and feel it deeply.”
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