Far-right protesters have stormed a Melbourne council meeting with a megaphone and flags to protest against their controversial cancellation of Australia Day celebrations.
The nine Party for Freedom activists interrupted Yarra City Council proceedings on Tuesday night shouting ‘shame’ and ‘nationalism is good’.
They waved Australian flags and placards reading ‘Love It Or Leave It’ and ‘Stop Left-Wing Violence Against Patriots’ – three weeks after the hard-left, inner-city council voted to ban Australia Day celebrations to appease indigenous people.
Socialist councillor Stephen Jolly was the prime target of the far-right demonstrators
Socialist councillor Stephen Jolly, who was wearing a beanie, was the prime target of their chants after they stormed through a door and filmed the confrontation.
‘Stephen Jolly, he’s shameful,’ a man shouted. ‘How dare you.
‘Shame on all of you. Stephen Jolly, you are a disgrace.’
Councillor Jolly, who filmed the confrontation on his smartphone, uploaded the right-wing group’s YouTube video to Twitter and Facebook afterwards.
‘The morons actually posted this themselves,’ he tweeted.
The nine Party for Freedom protesters carried Australian flags and a megaphone with them
The far-right demonstrators waved placards accusing the councillors of ‘left-wing violence’
A woman in a beanie brought along a ‘Love It Or Leave It’ sign which had an Australian flag
Yarra council’s nine members, including four Greens councillors, last month voted to hold indigenous-themed events on January 26 instead of commemorating Australia Day, the date in 1788 when the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay in Sydney.
Their decision to boycott the national day was designed to reduce so-called ‘distress’ to indigenous people, some of whom regard it as ‘Invasion Day’.
Councillor Jolly likened the protesters to fascists intent on crushing democracy.
‘There is plenty of room for people to have debate, but this was something totally different, it was a direct move against the democratic process that we haven’t seen in recent times,’ he told The Age.
‘Australians fought and died trying to protect people from the Nazis, yet we have this group of people tonight, in modern day Australia, who are saying ‘we don’t like what you do’ so we are going to destroy it’.’
Socialist councillor Stephen Jolly took his own video footage during the night confrontation
An Australian flag was waved in the faces of Yarra City councillors to make a patriotic point