Victoria police commander Wayne Cheesman lashes out over Melbourne Protest Chaos

A top cop has criticised violent protesters, stating those who “came to pick a fight with the police” were “issue-motivated groups on the left” during a fiery press conference in Melbourne on Sunday.

Violence erupted in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon as anti-immigration demonstrators clashed with counter-protesters, forcing a heavy police presence across the city.

Police Commander Wayne Cheesman, who oversees the North West Metro region, said police only used force when required and made clear the level of disruption was unacceptable.

At the press conference, he poured out a box of rocks and held up a large one.

“This is what was thrown at police today and I think Melbourne has had a gutsful … really enough’s enough,” Cheesman said.

He said the disruption to Melbourne, the general public and businesses “has to stop”.

First person footage inside Sunday’s protests show violent clashes between police and protesters

Footage from the protests shows a riot squad officer swinging a baton at a counter-protester as a deluge of officers moved in to separate the opposing sides. A counter-protest group retreated as smoke and flames, possibly from flash bangs, filled the air.

News photographers were also caught in the line of fire from capsicum spray.

Victoria Police confirmed two officers were assaulted, one with a suspected broken hand and another with a cut to the leg, and that police riot shields were cracked by projectiles. Rocks, glass bottles, and fruit were thrown at officers.

Cheesman described the violence as deliberate and targeted.

“These rocks were cracking some of those shields today. So they’ve been thrown with force, with a view, to harm our members.

“They come, they’re cowards, face coverings, masks, hoodies, hiding behind each other, pulling rocks from their bags and throwing them as hard as they can,” he said.

Cheesman said the clashes were caused by a small but violent group among the crowd.

“There were probably 800 to 1,000 people on each side today. The truth is, there’s probably 40 to 50 hardcore protesters who were trying to harm the police. The others are standing with them and not intervening, which is unacceptable.”

He praised the March for Australia group for being peaceful.

“They were peaceful, they were engaging, they listened to our instructions, they did what they were told, and they they protested by example.

“The people that came to pick the fight with police were the issue-motivated groups on the left.”

Cheeseman also emphasised the strain on Victoria Police resources.

“We had to deploy hundreds of police, not only today, but the man hours and weeks of planning, preparation, engagement with these people … the impact on Victoria Police resources at a time when we should be having police on the front line, looking at community safety, it appalled me,” he said.

“Today was a bad day for Victoria Police. I think it was a bad day for Melbourne. We really need to find an answer of what we do.“Our police should be out on the street. They shouldn’t be here today, dealing with people who are trying to harm us and trying to, I guess, court disruption to this great city.”

Cheeseman confirmed that one man had been arrested and that further arrests were likely.

“Every time we have a major demonstration with this criminality, they get allocated to local detectives from Melbourne CIU. They follow it up, and we’ve had a lot of success in the past, so yes, I’m anticipating more arrests,” he said.

In Brisbane, federal MP Bob Katter was spotted among the anti-immigration rally.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Katter criticised Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke for providing temporary humanitarian visas for Palestinians.

In the streets of the Queensland capital, chants of “You can shove your Palestine up your hole” were answered with: “Nazi scum off our streets.”

The demonstrations were organised to pre-empt clashes between March for Australia attendees and counter-protesters across capital cities.

In Sydney, organisers instructed the crowd to avoid engaging with counter-protesters as they left Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon.

Participants at the rallies waved Australian flags, including the red ensign, and some carried Aboriginal or Eureka Stockade/Southern Cross flags. One woman

held a sign stating: “Quality immigration, not quantity.”

Sunday’s Sydney protest began around 12.45pm to the sound of The Angels song Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, complete with the usual adlib: “No way, get f---ed, f--k off.”

The Melbourne counter-protest included signs reading “Blame capitalism, not migrants” and “Queer, straight, black, white, unite to stop the far right.”

The march was led by First Nations people starting at Camp Sovereignty.

The second national March for Australia events come amid confusion over immigration statistics.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes two different measurements of net migration, showing divergent trends.

Monthly arrivals data is based on a traveller’s self-declaration of the length of their stay, rather than changes in residency status; a temporary migrant who takes three overseas trips in one year would be counted as three arrivals.

For a person to be counted in net overseas migration, they have to be in Australia for 12 months over a 16-month period.

The latest official net overseas migration data, for the year to March, shows a three-year low of 315,000.

Over the last decade, annual net overseas migration was between 181,900 higher and 70,400 lower than the monthly arrivals figure, an Australian Financial Review analysis found.

The first March for Australia event, in August, drew thousands of attendees and received widespread criticism for its far-right links.