Protestors are seen marching down the Westgate Bridge as thousands march through Melbourne protesting construction work restrictions. Photo / Getty Images
Protestors are seen marching down the Westgate Bridge as thousands march through Melbourne protesting construction work restrictions. Photo / Getty Images
The protesters who unleashed chaos in Melbourne yesterday have vowed to keep marching "every day" until their demands are met, as police warn they'll be better prepared to shut down future violence.
A crowd of thousands moved through the city's streets on Tuesday, eventually blocking traffic on the West Gate Bridge. Some members of the group damaged cars and clashed with police, pelting projectiles at them. Law enforcement responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, and dozens of demonstrators were arrested.
That came just 24 hours after Monday's violent brawl outside the Melbourne headquarters of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, efficientlyand Energy Union (CFMEU), as tradies protested against mandatory Covid vaccinations.
Members of Victoria Police arrest a protester during an anti vaccine protest in Melbourne, Australia. Photo / Getty Images
The Victorian government subsequently shut down the city's construction industry for two weeks, citing the high spread of Covid at construction sites.
Prior to the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the city, police were expecting more protests today, and Commissioner Shane Patton promised "different" tactics to quash any violence more efficiently.
"I'm not going to disclose what our tactics will be," he said.
"But they will be different."
Yesterday he labelled members of the mob "cowards" who were "intent on random violence".
Speaking to Sunrise this morning, Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said Tuesday was "a dark day for Melbourne". He said police respected the right of citizens to protest, but "not during a pandemic".
"It's actually illegal at the moment and contributing to the risk of spreading the virus," Nugent said.
"Today, we'll be out again. We'll be out with as many police as we can get, and looking at using various operational tactics."
Asked about the composition of the crowd, he said some were genuine tradies, but others were agitators looking to commit acts of violence.
"The protesters are a mix of people. Some of them, clearly, are there purely to hide in a mob and commit violence. It is quite clear that they are not there to protest peacefully. They are there to have a go at police, to assault police," he said.
Construction workers taunt Police in Elizabeth Street yesterday. Photo / Getty Images
"Others have legitimate reasons for being there, but you can see clearly that the aggression of the people is something we haven't dealt with for a while.
"There were certainly some CFMEU members present, but there were certainly a lot of others that joined in. There were these so-called 'Freedom Rally' protesters that joined in. A lot of people just used this as a cover to come down and act aggressively."
"It was really disappointing and it was a really dark day for Melbourne"@VictoriaPolice Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent says officers will be out again in force to prevent a third day of "disturbing" anti-vaccination protests. pic.twitter.com/0W8AeVEiUq
"I mean, I just got drowned out by some of these other morons. I don't even know who they are. They're not even from our industry, some of them.
"Some of them are anti-vaxxers. There are some of our members there. Thankfully there's not that many.
"Thanks to these people, our industry are now shut for two weeks. We have done everything in our power to keep this industry going, just seeing what happened on Monday is pretty disappointing."
Despite the significant outbreaks in the construction sector, Mr Setka insisted his union was "abiding by the rules" regarding Covid.
"Our industry's a massive industry. We can't control what happens on some of the smaller sites," he said.
"We are a pro-vax. We've run radio ads encouraging our members to get vaccinated. If you've got a concern over it, go see your GP, go get some proper advice. Don't follow the internet and all the mistruths that are spread about it.
