Police in Brisbane were kept busy with a large-scale protest which started in the city CBD before moving to South Brisbane.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) has undertaken a significant amount of planning with a variety of stakeholders regarding anticipated highly planned, well organised and often illegal protest activity by Issue Motivated Groups (IMGs) and individuals regarding proposed mining activity in central Queensland.
The QPS supports lawful and peaceful protest and is committed to working with groups to plan and facilitate lawful activities.
People associated with the protest started gathering in numbers in Reddacliff Place, Brisbane city at around 5pm.
The large crowd, while noisy was mostly peaceful, listened to speeches before heading across the Victoria Bridge shortly before 6pm.
Protesters staged a brief ‘sit-down’ on the Bridge before moving into Grey Street where another ‘sit-down’ occurred before they marched onto Southbank.
Seven people, six men and one woman, were arrested and detained by police for breaching the peace with five of them gluing themselves to Russell Street before being removed by police. No charges have been laid.
Police negotiators spoke with protest organisers throughout the evening with police also coordinating road closures to facilitate the safe and effective movement of participants, as well as the general public and motorists.
Significant disruption was experienced to peak hour traffic with police and transport agencies working hard to minimise the disruptions. Police would like to thank motorists and the public for their patience. The last roads to be re-opened occurred in South Brisbane at around 9.20pm.
The QPS will not comment on specific protest issues or threats however our planning is well-advanced and we continue to review our arrangements to meet the current protest environment.
