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Melbourne protests ‘distressing’ and unacceptable, PM says

Courtney GouldNCA NewsWire
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Camera IconNot Supplied Credit: Channel 7

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has labelled the ongoing protests in Melbourne as “highly distressing” as demonstrations enter their third day.

Addressing the media in Washington, Mr Morrison said he had not yet spoken to the Victorian Premier about the matter.

“These are matters that are being handled back in Australia. Those events in Melbourne, of the protests, are very concerning and it is unacceptable behaviour,” the Prime Minister said.

“Particularly at a time when those in Victoria are dealing with lockdowns and many other stressors, this is very concerning.”

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison heads to the USA
Camera IconPrime Minister Scott Morrison has called out the behaviour of protesters in Melbourne. Adam Taylor Credit: Supplied

Protesters flooded the streets of Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday, causing disruption as some hurled bottles at people and set off flares in the CBD before hijacking the West Gate Bridge.

Organisers of the demonstrations have claimed they will continue to march until construction workers are granted permission to get back on the tools after Daniel Andrews ordered the industry into a two week shutdown.

The decision to lock up all building sites, a position strongly pushed by chief health officer Brett Sutton, was taken after it became clear the industry would not reach its government-imposed deadline of vaccinating 90 per cent of construction workers with at least one jab by Thursday.

“None of us are above the law,” Mr Morrisons said.

“I can understand that people would be concerned about the shut down of the construction industry. These are important jobs and they will return, we will get through this but protest activity and what we have seen there is highly distressing and that is not an appropriate response to trying to deal with an outbreak of this nature.”

The PM’s comments put him in an unlikely alliance with union boss John Setka, who earlier on Wednesday urged protesters to stay home.

“We’re shut-out now because of these morons. We have 300,000 people sitting at home that should’ve been working otherwise. It’s a bit of a sad moment,” he told ABC News Breakfast.

CFMEU HEADQUARTERS PROTESTS
Camera IconPolice form a cordon in front of Parliament House in Melbourne after violent protests against mandatory vaccinations for workers on building sites. NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia

“Some of the scenes I saw yesterday, bottles being thrown at people, drinking, is that real protesting. It’s just denigrating everything.”

Earlier, the man who pushed to expel Mr Setka from the Labor Party, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, on Wednesday backed the union leader.

“I condemn these protesters and John Setka is right on this occasion – that what we have seen is people‘s jobs and livelihoods endangered because of the actions of an extreme fringe who engaged in a violent demonstration yesterday,” Mr Albanese told ABC News Breakfast.

Mr Albanese defended the CFMEU leadership against criticism that union leaders should be doing more to stem the protests.

“I have been critical from time to time of the CFMEU, but here the CFMEU

construction division office there in Melbourne was the people being attacked, not the other way around,” he said.

“The fact is that far-right elements have infiltrated the demonstrations yesterday.”

Originally published as Melbourne protests ‘distressing’ and unacceptable, PM says

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