Change the nation': Invasion Day protesters march through Melbourne    

26 January 2019
The Age
 

Up to 10,000 people have gathered for an Invasion Day protest in central Melbourne.



The protest coincided with an official Australia Day parade in the city, celebrating Victoria's cultural diversity and featuring more than 1000 participants from over 80 community and cultural groups.

At the Invasion Day rally, thousands of people wearing black red and yellow were packed tightly around Parliament House,  spilling out into Spring Street before marching down Bourke Street.


Thousands of people joined the Invasion Day march from Parliament House to Flinders Street Station on Saturday.


As protesters turned into Swanston Street, where the Australia Parade was held only minutes before, they shouted “no pride in genocide” and “always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.

Several held signs reading “Change the date, we still won’t celebrate” with some of the crowd advocating not only for Australia Day to be moved from January 26th, but to be abolished completely.

“We don’t just need to change the date, we need to change the nation,” one protester shouted.

Police were out in force, with dozens of officers in cars, on motorbikes and on foot patrolling the march.

A dozen officers on horseback were at the front of the march, and police with cameras were dotted around the gathering, monitoring the crowd.


Among the “Abolish Australia Day” signs were posters bearing the faces of Aboriginal men and women who have died in police custody. Signatures on a petition to abolish controversial public drunkenness laws spilled across dozens of pages.

“We are sick of the pain, we are sick of the loss, every single day. We need you every day,” said one woman, addressing white Australians in the crowd.

“It’s up to you if you want to come out once a year and protest or if you will work every single day to change what this country is about,” she said.

Tensions rose when it looked for a moment that officers would not allow protesters to bring a truck carrying speakers past the police line.


Protesters shouted “let us through”, some pushing up against the wall of officers, trying to break past.

As the crowd began to roar with boos and shouts, police were forced to move back, re-establishing a barricade a block down.

Plans by far-right activist and convicted criminal Neil Erikson and supporters of his United Patriots Front to disrupt the official parade by joining in uninvited were thwarted when they were unable to get through barricades placed along Swanston Street.

Erikson arrived at Federation Square shortly after 11am, draped in an Australian flag, and was joined by just a dozen supporters, who earlier told The Age they were “going to join in the parade” even though they were not officially part of it.

“We just want to wave our Australian flags,” one United Patriots supporter said.


Police led a far-right nationalist away from Invasion Day protesters at Flinders Street Station.

However, after walking up and down Swanson Street looking for an opportunity to slip through the barricades, the group headed back to Federation Square where police spoke to Erikson before the group quickly dispersed.

There had earlier been concerns that Erikson’s group could potentially clash with Invasion Day marchers and cause ugly scenes similar to those that occurred at a rally organised by Erikson and Blair Cottrell in St Kilda in January to “take back the beach” from “African crime gangs”.

After the march ended, police descended when a fight broke out on the steps of Flinders Street station, where a small group of far-right nationalists stood with an Australian flag under the clocks.

Officers gathered as tentions escalated among the men and surrounding protesters. It is believed that one person grabbed another person’s flag, and a fight erupted.

Several people were dragged down the steps into the crowd and witnesses say a group of men were wrestling on the ground, shoving each other and yelling.

A dozen officers quickly broke up the fight and at least one far-right nationalist was marched away, surrounded by police.

What exactly do the protesters want?

Setanta wrote on Jan 27^th, 2019 at 7:44pm:


There were kids with 'abolish Australia' placards.

When I was in my early 20s, I was kicking around with some NSW Greens types, mostly because I was a bit of a tree hugger.

The left wing of the greens are total loons and their objective is the restratification of society. They actually spoke glowingly of the Khmer rouge's ideals, minus the murder.

I get the feeling those types are well behind this sort of crap. It has very little to do with helping Abos.

Politicians create Australia Day to commemorate their first appearance in this part of the world.

Politicians make everyone pay a tax towards giving money and benefits to Aboriginal peoples.

Aboriginal peoples 'invade' the Australia Day celebrations.

Politicians remove money & benefits to Aboriginals.

Aboriginals can't afford to fund demonstrations against the removal of their free money and benefits.

Australia: "You get what you pay for!" 

British Media condemns Australians as "Criminals for stealing Aboriginal lands"
USA Media condemns Australians as "Racists for not giving Aboriginals every right"

Must be pretty crap when you know you can't beat the Abos with Politics and Military - like the Brits/Yanks did against the Yellows 

So if you can't use Politics/Military to get the black monkey off your back - what then? 

People have every right to protest and voice their concerns about the future of their country....The abuse and derogatory comments about Aboriginal people is disgusting and shows what a bunch of racist wankers you right wing ass holes are!!!

Most of the lads didn't even know it was Australia day.

philperth2010 wrote on Jan 28^th, 2019 at 9:07am:


... and people have every right to object to ridiculous demands and protests over nothing real and for no viable objective and voice their concerns over the future of their country .... the abuse and derogatory comments about White people is disgusting and shows what a bunch of racist wankers those social justice warrior ass holes are!!!

Generally you're OK, Phil, but you really need to learn that a piece of rope has two ends to it...... you can't use a one-ended rope to climb a mountain... Grasshopper...