Activists are out to disrupt a military expo in Melbourne. Why are they protesting and what is planned?
Thousands of anti-war activists are expected to descend on Melbourne this week, vowing to disrupt an international military and defence expo.
Here’s everything you need to know about the event and the planned protests.
What is the event?
The biennial Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition will run from 11 to 13 September at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Previously held in Brisbane, it attracts hundreds of defence personnel from around the world to the showcase of weapons and technology.
More than 800 domestic and international companies and leading organisations will take part.
Military tanks, heavy-duty trucks and semi-automatic guns will be on display during the three-day event.
Why are people protesting?
An alliance of up to 50 activist groups are planning a series of week-long protests to target the event.
Activists say they are protesting against Israel’s war in Gaza and to highlight how the defence sector supplies weapons that are used against civilians.
Protesters plan to form a large-scale picket line around the event from about 6am on Wednesday to disrupt the opening ceremony.
Related: A Gaza ceasefire pilgrimage walks 45km through central Victoria – in pictures
Nathalie Farah, representative of Disrupt Land Forces – a coalition of activist groups – said protesters wanted to have conversations with attenders and provide them with leaflets about the activists’ aims.
“We want to make our voices heard and let them know we don’t want this to be happening in the city,” she said.
Jasmine Duff, an organiser of the blockade and co-convener for Students for Palestine, said protesters felt compelled to take action over the war in Gaza.
“It’s obvious that we have to take a stand,” she said. “We have to say, ‘Not in our names.’ And that’s why so many students are gathering around this event and wanting to protest it.”
Brad Homewood, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, said the aim of the protests were to “make Land Forces feel so unwelcome they never come back to Melbourne”.
“We want to end war and repression,” he said.
Other protest activity will include theatrical stunts outside the expo venue, speeches by pro-Palestine activists at rallies, a march from defence company Hanwha’s office to the convention centre and a “zombie rave”.
Protest activity kicked off at the weekend, with activists vandalising hotels with red paint and blocking traffic.
Greens MP Gabrielle Di Vietri said she would attend Wednesday’s protest while parliament is sitting, insisting the government should have cancelled it.
“The Labor government sponsoring a deadly weapons expo, that might be worth skiving off an hour or two of parliament,” Di Vietri told reporters on Tuesday.
Labor minister Ingrid Stitt said she believed Di Vietri’s constituents would expect her to be at parliament while it was sitting.
What are police planning?
Victoria police said on Sunday they would have a significant presence during and in the lead-up to what will be their biggest operation in decades.
Police have been granted special powers under anti-terror legislation, giving officers bolstered powers to request identification and search people and vehicles in the area surrounding the event.
They will also have the power to order masked protesters away from the event if they suspect they are trying to conceal their identity or the use of capsicum spray.
Police have said there is no intelligence suggesting Land Forces was under specific threat but that the national terrorism threat level was at probable.
Interstate and regional police have been deployed to Melbourne to assist the response.
Numerous officers are already stationed in and around the building, including at exit and entry points. The fence at the site has also been covered by tarps, making it difficult to see what is happening inside.
The Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, said police had asked for additional funds to cover the event, estimated to be between $10m and $15m.
He urged anyone not protesting to stay away from the area around the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and asked demonstrators to act “with a modicum of respect” including towards police.
Why are there concerns about the protest?
The event could be the state’s biggest protest since the World Economic Forum in 2000. More than 100 people were arrested in that rally in scenes unusual in Melbourne at the time.
Organisers claim up to 25,000 activists could rally against the weapons expo on Wednesday, after days of smaller protests around the CBD.
Tensions have begun to rise in lead-up to Land Forces 2024.
An anti-war protester was arrested on Saturday after she attached herself to a car and blocked traffic on the West Gate Freeway for hours. There were two arrests at the weekly pro-Palestine protest in Melbourne on Sunday.
Police said a 20-year-old Craigieburn man and a 49-year-old Broadmeadows man had been arrested at the scene.
Both were released from custody and “are expected to be charged on summons with assault and resist police offences”, police said.
– with reporting by Australian Associated Press
