Three arrested one over serious assault of officer during heated border protest
Queensland police have charged one man over the alleged “serious assault†of an officer, while two others were arrested during a second, smaller, weekend of anti-lockdown protests on the NSW border at Coolangatta.
More than 100 people gathered at the protest’s peak about midday on Sunday, but joint efforts from police on both sides of the border hindered organisers’ attempts to rally together in larger numbers, Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman told reporters.
Mounted police were called in from Sydney on the eve of Sunday’s planned protests.Credit:Mackenzie Colahan / Nine News Gold Coast
“Unfortunately, on our side in Queensland, we had three arrests. One of those arrests actually involved the assault upon one of our police officers â€" a serious assault,†he said. “The officers … were actually trying to arrest the male due to his behaviour, and [he] actually assaulted the officer during the arrest process.â€
The 39-year-old Queensland man was also charged with obstructing police. Two others were expected to be fined for breaching public health directions.
Chief Superintendent Wildman said the three people arrested were among the more than 1000 protesters involved in last Sunday’s rally and had been the subject of police investigations since then. Police said the three were “more agitated†than they were last weekend.
More than 150 police, including plain-clothes detectives, mounted units, the PolAir helicopter and public safety response team members, were placed at the Queensland side of the large cross-border community ahead of the event, with similar numbers tasked by NSW.
The heavily intertwined community is subject to the harshest travel restrictions to date throughout the pandemic, with only a limited number of vaccinated essential workers able to cross into Queensland.
Many in the community have been urging governments on both sides of the border to find a solution to allow a border bubble to be re-established.
Footage from the scene showed many protesters not wearing masks, as some questioned their use among children.
The Liberal Democrats’ Warringah candidate, John Ruddick, posted an image of an anti-lockdown banner being flown over the region urging people to vote for his party at the next federal election.
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Matt is a reporter with Brisbane Times, covering city council and urban affairs.
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