FIVE people have been arrested during a protest outside a Melbourne CBD hotel against conservative UK politician Nigel Farage’s speaking tour.
About 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Sofitel on Collins St on Friday night, where the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party gave his last Australian tour speech.
Far-right provocateur Neil Erikson was bundled away by police and Andrew Nolch, the man charged with defacing comedian Eurydice Dixon’s memorial, was among the counter-protest group.
Around 200 protesters tried to block guests from entering the event. Police had to form a human barrier around the guests and guide them through the crowd of protesters.
Five people were arrested, one for criminal damage, another for riotous behaviour and a third for covering their face and assaulting police, while two others were arrested for unrelated outstanding matters, police said.
Victoria Police previously billed tour organisers for right-wing activists Milos Yiannopoulos and Lauren Southern for security at their Melbourne events, at a cost of $50,000 and $68,000 respectively.
Its decision to charge for security came as news to the Farage event organiser Damien Costas. “I’ve had no discussions with VicPol regarding payment for police presence regarding Mr Farage’s speaking event in Melbourne,” he told The Australian.
“It’s an international disgrace if the police in Victoria charge for protection of a member of the European Parliament … I’m not expecting a bill.”
Protesters surrounded Mr Costas as he came out to address the media, and chanted “Muslims are welcome / Racists are not” and “Come on, Nigel, You can’t hide / Come show us your Nazi side.”
The ABC reports a 68-year-old woman was pushed to the ground by police, injuring her wrist in the fall. She expressed her concerns with what she believes to be a growing trend of far-right speakers coming to Australia.
“First we had Milo, then Lauren Southern and Stephen Molineux and now Nigel Farage,” she said. “We can’t allow these people to ruin our multicultural city. We are here to tell them they are not welcome.”
https://www.news.com.au/news/national/five-arrested-at-nigel-farage-melbourne-protest/news-story/3336f1089e41e8802366024ff7693ec9