|
 Golf balls, batteries and bottles were among the items thrown at
police during the protests held in defiance of stay-at home orders
after a two-week closure of building sites to rein in infections,
which rose again in the state of Victoria.
Police are bracing for more demonstrations in the next few days,
said deputy commissioner Ross Guenther, adding that the motives of
some participants had seemed unclear.
"There weren't as many tradies involved...there are other small
breakaway groups that see benefit in hijacking these things,"
Guenther told reporters.
"We've got plenty of resources. We will vary our tactics tomorrow,
if that is what we need to do, but of course, my message is, 'Don't
come into the city.'"
Earlier, authorities and union officials had said extremist and
far-right groups also joined the protests.
"There were some people there who you would say were from the
building industry," state premier Daniel Andrews told reporters.
"There were others who were not ... they are not there to protest,
they are there for a fight, pretend to be protesting."
The protests came after decisions by authorities to make vaccines
mandatory for construction workers and shut construction sites from
Tuesday, citing non-compliance with health rules.
Groups of protesters roamed the streets and about 300 gathered at a
city landmark, but most avoided clashes with busloads of police
after protests on Tuesday in which more than 2,000 demonstrators
damaged property and injured three police.
Media complained after police asked the aviation authority to
declare a no-fly zone above Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, in
what Guenther called an effort to ensure that footage gave away no
details of police tactics to protesters.
Later, the decision was modified to let TV helicopters film on
condition of an hour's delay in broadcast, he added.
Television images showed a police group using capsicum spray and
foam baton rounds to disperse hundreds of protesters at the Shrine
of Remembrance, which honours war service.
[to top of second column] |
 Many protesters face fines of
A$2,000 ($1,450) for breaches of COVID-19
directives, Guenther added.
Some protesters have refused to speak to
reporters on the scene, chanting "Fake news"
when approached, media said. Others held banners
with the slogan, "End lockdown now!"
RE-OPENING PLANS
Australia's largest cities of Sydney and
Melbourne, as well as the capital, Canberra,
have been in lockdown for weeks to restrain a
Delta outbreak.
 The lockdown is
the sixth for Victoria's capital of Melbourne, the most of any
Australian city since the pandemic began.
Authorities aim to resume daily activities in Sydney and Melbourne
in a staggered fashion, easing some curbs when the share of fully
vaccinated adults in the population reaches 70%, which is expected
next month.
Further relaxations will follow when the figure hits 80%.
Some 54% of people aged 16 and above are fully vaccinated in the
most populous state of New South Wales and 45% in the southeastern
state of Victoria.
Victoria recorded 628 new infections on Wednesday, the year's
biggest one-day rise, exceeding the previous high of 603 a day
before. New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, had a total of
1,035 new infections, up from 1,022 on Tuesday.
Australia's tally of infections stands at about 90,300, including
1,186 deaths, with eight new deaths reported.
($1=A$1.3793)
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
