Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to descend on cities across the country, potentially causing chaos for Australia Day revellers and businesses.
‘Invasion Day’ or ‘Survival Day’ rallies are slated for most capital cities on Sunday morning, as well as regional hubs such as Cairns in Queensland’s Far North.
Earlier reports suggested that more than 30,000 anti-Australia Day and pro-Palestine protesters could take to the streets in Melbourne’s CBD.
Protests are set to begin from 9am in Brisbane’s Queen’s Garden, followed by Belmore Park in Sydney at 10am, the Tent Embassy in Canberra (10am), Parliament House in Victoria (10am), Fogarty Park in Cairns (10am), 198 Elizabeth St in Hobart (11am), Victoria Square in Adelaide (12pm), and Forrest Chase in Perth (12.30pm).
Thousands set to gather for rallies across the country. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui
“Join us to honour our survival, demand justice, and fight for the liberation of all First Nations,” the Sydney event, run by Blakcaucus, stated in a post to social media.
“January 26 marks the beginning of colonisation on our lands, leading to the violent dispossession of our ancestors and the continued oppression of our people today. The injustices we face are stark and ongoing.”
The action comes after the statues of two former Australian prime ministers were decapitated while another of Captain Cook was splashed with red paint earlier this week.
Busts of former Labor leaders Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd were vandalised in Victoria’s northwest on Thursday, with about 20 statues in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens also damaged.
The estimated damage was more than $140,000.
A Captain Cook statue was also vandalised in Sydney on Friday morning, with red paint splashed all over it.
The Randwick Captain Cook statue was also vandalised last February, while another Captain Cook statue was cut off from the ankles in Victoria last year ahead of Australia Day, two years after the same statue was covered in red paint.
The St Kilda statue was scrawled with the words “the colony will fall” ahead of the controversial public holiday in 2024, while a Queen Victoria monument was also covered in red paint.
Rallies are slated to kick off from 9am in Brisbane’s Queen’s Garden. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui
However it remained unclear whether the most recent vandalism was related to Australia Day protests.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan earlier urged protesters to keep away from the Australian Open, and said disruption to the tournament could “really break the patience of the public”.
“To target the Australian Open would be a disgusting act,” Ms Allan said, according to the Herald Sun.
She said police would be out “in large numbers”, and said “no one should be using that right to peacefully protest and going in with the intent to cause violence”.Ms Allan also said respect went “both ways”.
“We’ve got to make sure that for those who want to acknowledge the day in their own way have the space to do that,” she said.
More to come.