This is the moment a mayor threw punches at far-right protesters after they stormed a council meeting carrying a coffin.
Activists rushed into a Moreland City Council meeting shortly after 8pm on Monday protesting the inner-north Melbourne authority’s decision to change the date of Australia Day celebrations.
Footage posted of the incident shows demonstrators storming the meeting shouting ‘traitor to your nation’ before Mayor Helen Davidson is seen taking a swing at one of the protesters.
‘Get out, get out,’ Mayor Davidson shouted in the footage released by 3AW.
In the footage, protesters draped in the Australian flag unfurled a sign with the words ‘save the date’ (pictured) and carried in a coffin scrawled with the letters ‘RIP’
Moreland City Council Mayor Helen Davidson
In the footage, protesters draped in the Australian flag unfurled a sign with the words ‘save the date’ and carried in a coffin scrawled with the letters ‘RIP’.
They also shouted ‘you are traitors, each and every one of you’.
‘We’re fed up with the division you’re causing people. You’re supposed to be harmonious people and you just cause divide,’ they said.
‘This is the death of Australia Day in this council.’
The protesters accused councillors of stripping Australians of their right to celebrate their heritage.
‘This council have no right to change the date of Australia Day. They’ve cancelled any reference to Australia Day because they are traitors,’ one man said.
‘Are you happy to give away your heritage?’
Neil Erikson, a supporter of the United Patriots Front, joined far-right group Patriot Blue on Wednesday night to storm the council meeting.
He told AAP he would not press charges against the Moreland mayor for allegedly hitting him because she’s ‘pretty good looking’.
‘We’re fed up with the division you’re causing people. You’re supposed to be harmonious people and you just cause divide’ a protester shouted as they carried in a coffin (pictured)
Protesters brought a coffin painted as the Australian Flag scrawled with the letters ‘RIP’
The protesters left voluntarily shortly before police officers arrived at the building.
The Moreland City Council voted to drop all references to January 26 as Australia Day in September, over fears it offended Aboriginal people.
It became the third Melbourne council to ditch the celebration.
Councillor Sue Bolton likened Australia Day on January 26 to ‘celebrating the Nazi holocaust’.
The decision prompted outrage from citizens and politicians alike.
Wednesday night was the second time the council meeting was ambushed by activists protesting the council decision.
Moreland City Council building was previously stormed on September 28 following the council decision to axe the celebration
Protesters ambushed a council meeting on September 28, with some draped in the Australian flag and others waving neo-Nazi signs.
The Federal Government also expressed its opposition to the council decision.
Assistant Immigration Minister Alex Hawke slammed the decision as ‘divisive’.
He also condemned Councillor Bolton’s comparison of Australia Day to the Nazi Holocaust.
‘The Turnbull Government strongly condemns comparisons of Australia Day with the Nazi Holocaust as deeply offensive to all Australians,’ he said.
Australia Day celebrations (pictured at Terrigal NSW) have been the subject of debate, with councils voting to axe January 26 celebrations over fears it offended Aboriginal people
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stripped the council of its right to hold citizenship ceremonies altogether
Yarra Council, in Melbourne’s north-east, voted to stop holding citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day in August.
The decision prompted backlash from the Turnbull government.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stripped the council of its right to hold citizenship ceremonies altogether.
While he acknowledged January 26 represented tragedy for Aboriginal people, Mr Turnbull said Australia Day was about celebrating the ‘greatness of our achievements’.
He said the council decision to scrap the event was ‘utterly out of step with Australian values’.