Melbourne protests LIVE Protesters in stand-off with Victoria Police at Shrine of Remembrance Daniel Andrews condemns demonstrations

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Police have used tear gas and fired non-lethal rounds at protesters to disperse them from the Shrine of Remembrance.

The war memorial is now entirely empty.

Shrine of Remembrance chief executive Dean Lee is left to survey the mess left behind. Credit:Erin Pearson

Left behind at the war memorial were tear gas canisters, leftover bean rounds and foam batons.

Dozens gathered in the gardens beneath it shortly after they dispersed from the Shrine, still chanting “every day” to indicate they would be back to protest again.

Police then followed the protesters down through gardens and continued firing at them, as protesters made their way back into the city.

A Facebook live stream of the protests showed a car crashing into a tram as protesters flooded the city’s streets.

Some were heard on a stream saying that the protest was now over.

Assistant Attorney-General Amanda Stoker has condemned violence at the protests in Melbourne over recent days but says that she understands people who are desperate to get everyday freedoms back.

“Violence is never OK,” Senator Stoker said. She claimed too Labor MPs had been willing to condemn the worst of the protester’s behaviour when some had been perpetrated by CFMEU members.

A man is taken away by police at the Shrine of Remembrance. Credit:Eddie Jim

More generally, Senator Stoker said, the protests reflected a deep frustration with continued heavy-handed coronavirus responses in Victoria.

“It reflects a deep-seated frustration among many Australians about the fact that they have experienced confinement for a long period of time and it reflects the fact that people need to have a clear path to getting back to normal,” she said.

“The good news is that the national plan is our pathway to get there and the more that the states, the Commonwealth, and the territories work together to deliver on the national plan the more people can be free of the restrictions on their liberty that frustrate them so much.”

Nine News chief Darren Wick has criticised the request by police to ban media helicopters from flying over Melbourne to cover protests, describing it as an overreach.

Wick, the national director of news and current affairs at Nine, told radio station 3AW on Wednesday afternoon that the decision was made by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, but the request had been made by police.

A still from the Nine helicopter of protests in Melbourne on Tuesday. Credit:Nine News

“[Victoria Police] want our chopper footage stopped for operational reasons, because they’re concerned that the protesters are going to use the live feeds to give updates on the locations of the police. We find that pretty ridiculous,” he said.

The helicopter is contracted by Nine, Seven and the ABC, which Wicks described as “the three most reputable sources of news in this country”.

“We know what we’re doing, we’re not here to scaremonger or do anything ridiculously but the concern for us about this decision was it was made without consultation,” Wick said.

“In the past, if police sought our assistance, during a siege, or during bushfires in terms of excluding chopper vision, we’ve always talked it through with them, we’ve always come up with a sensible decision, and we support them.

“We’re not a police state, it’s very unprecedented, and it’s very uncomfortable, the decision that’s been made.”

He said he didn’t like what the protesters were doing but to ban helicopter coverage was an overreach and set a very dangerous precedent, which moved into the realms of censorship and a police state.

Wicks said Nine were looking into their legal options to try and have the decision reversed.

“I really urge Victoria Police to rethink this decision immediately. It’s a very bad look for them, it looks as though they’ve got something to hide, we don’t think they do,” he said.

“We have all of our reporters and crews on the ground covering it. If we can’t get those pictures out in the air, we’re actually going to have to put more reporters, more crews on the ground working beside the police. So we need to cover it. We live in an open, free society, we’re a democracy.

“We allow these basic freedoms to disappear now, what comes next?”

Police are trying to find alternative options after they requested a no-fly zone over Melbourne, meaning media could not cover the protests from the air.

In a statement, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said they were aware of media concerns.

“Victoria Police made an application to CASA for restricted air space in the Melbourne CBD, due to operational and safety reasons in relation to the protest activity,” she said.

“We understand the concerns from the media about this decision. We are looking to find alternate options that would meet the needs of both Victoria Police and the media.”

She said an update will be provided as soon as possible.

Police have used tear gas and fired non-lethal rounds at protesters to disperse them from the Shrine of Remembrance.

The war memorial is now entirely empty.

Shrine of Remembrance chief executive Dean Lee is left to survey the mess left behind. Credit:Erin Pearson

Left behind at the war memorial were tear gas canisters, leftover bean rounds and foam batons.

Dozens gathered in the gardens beneath it shortly after they dispersed from the Shrine, still chanting “every day” to indicate they would be back to protest again.

Police then followed the protesters down through gardens and continued firing at them, as protesters made their way back into the city.

A Facebook live stream of the protests showed a car crashing into a tram as protesters flooded the city’s streets.

Some were heard on a stream saying that the protest was now over.

The front line of police has shifted onto the Shrine of Remembrance to occupy the area where the protesters stood earlier today.

A core rump of marchers has remained seated on the steps of the Shrine, facing police horses about 10 metres away.

Police at the Shrine of Remembrance. Credit:Michael Fowler

Police have continued urging the crowd to go home via St Kilda Road at the same time as arresting individuals from the crowd, one at a time.

“We want you to leave via St Kilda Road,” one police officer said. “There’s safe passage off to my right.”

The protesters are chanting “walk through the middle”.

About one-quarter of the group still protesting is wearing hi-vis - the majority are dressed in black, some with face coverings.

Aboriginal healthcare worker Vivian Malo has followed the protesters around for the past two days.

Dismayed at their actions, she has regularly shouted at the crowd, calling them losers and telling them to go home.

“They are getting into the minds of people with true concerns. It’s disturbing,” she said.

“I don’t believe it’s a true representation of CFMEU.”

For the first time, police have told protesters who have converged on the Shrine of Remembrance to “leave via St Kilda Road” through a megaphone.

The direction was greeted by a chorus of boos, as protesters have said they want to leave “down the centre with dignity, the way we came”.

Protesters want to leave the Shrine of Remembrance the way they came. Credit:Jason South

Police have taken another step up the hill, moving closer than they have at any point today.

The forward move has sparked abuse from many individuals towards police.

One man was standing with his hands in the air, other protesters have sat fewer than five metres in front of the police line.

Tensions are high as they have been in the last couple of hours as police appear to be making their ultimate move to disperse the crowd.

Riot police have put down their shields and moved back from hundreds of protesters at the Shrine of Remembrance to try and encourage demonstrators to leave peacefully.

Protesters who appear to be leading the group have said on megaphones that police have told them that those who want to leave, can do so peacefully.

Police and protesters are still facing-off.Credit:Jason South

Police then moved back slightly by a few metres from the main group to engender some trust.

Riot police had formed a tight ring around the demonstrators, who are still on the steps of the war memorial off St Kilda Road in the city, reporter Michael Fowler, who is on the scene, says.

Fowler and senior crime journalist Cameron Houston, also on scene, estimates about 400 police were currently at the Shrine.

Protesters who appear to be somewhat leading the demonstration on the Shrine of Remembrance say police have given them until 4pm to leave.

Live footage shot by protesters and posted on social media show those on megaphones telling the crowd that police have offered safe passage out.

The vision shows a couple of police in uniform speaking to the protest spokespeople.

“We don’t want to be treated as criminals,” one protester told the demonstrators.

The protest is a convergence of people who are anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine, and construction workers who were stood down from work on Monday night for two weeks after volatile protests outside the CFMEU offices during the day.

The protests began after the government introduced a jab mandate and closed construction site tearooms in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus among workers.

Premier Daniel Andrews told a press conference earlier today there have been more than 300 cases of COVID across 150 sites during the last two months.

The front line of police that has formed a ring around protesters on the steps of the Shrine of Remembrance have inched in closer to demonstrators.

Four lines of police are facing the Shrine, including at least 10 police horses.

Protesters remain on the steps of the Shrine.Credit:Eddie Jim

One small group of men threw what appeared to be bottles at police, before running back into the main crowd, Age reporter Michael Fowler says.

But otherwise, demonstrators on megaphones have been urging the group to be peaceful.

According to at least two demonstrators on megaphones addressing the protesters, police told them that they could leave without a confrontation, but the main group on the steps of the war memorial have remained.

The group appears to be in the hundreds, some estimates put it up to 1,000. Some protesters are wearing high visibility gear, others are waving Australian flags, reflecting the mix of construction workers and anti-lockdown protesters that appear to be here.

Police have surrounded protesters for a couple of hours.Credit:Eddie Jim

At various stages, they chant slogans including “f--- the jab” and “every day”.

“I can’t work. Enough is enough,” one man yelled, another Age reporter on the scene, Erin Pearson, reports.

The stand-off has now lasted about two hours.

Police tactics seem to be to remove individual protesters while encouraging others to leave peacefully via St Kilda Road.

Reporters for The Age, Erin Pearson and Michael Fowler, are on the scene at the Shrine of Remembrance and say police have been steadily arresting protesters on the fringe of the crowd.

But the main group on the steps of the war memorial are standing their ground.

Age photographer Jason South took this video below.

One woman on a megaphone warned the main group that police want them to move from the Shrine, and are likely to move in.

Another man said he spoke to police and “no one was going to get hurt” and will allow them to leave “peacefully”, which attracted boos from the group.

“Hold your ground. Hold your ground,” some protesters chanted.

One lady dropped to the ground as police took hold of her arms.

After several minutes four officers carried the woman away. She was sobbing as she was taken away.

Hundreds of police are now within 10 metres of the front of the crowd. The sides are holding their ground - no violence to report so far.

One of the protesters is on a megaphone telling demonstrators they were on “holy ground” at the Shrine of Remembrance.

The woman urged the group not to throw weapons at police, who have started to move in on the protesters on the steps of the war memorial to form an even tighter ring around them.

“We’re here for peace. We’re here to be heard,” she said, speaking to the demonstrators.

“We already look like f---ing neo-Nazis on the news, do you want that?”

The crowd responded: “No”.

“Then look after this land,” the woman told them.

“We are standing on holy ground here. Holy ground.”

She said people should not be forced to take vaccines, prompting cheering from the crowd

Following her speech some protesters began singing the John Farnham song ‘You’re the Voice’ before police began advancing towards the protesters, attracting taunts and jeering.

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