The ACT Chief Minister has said the government is concerned about elements of an anti-vaccine mandate protest that has targeted local businesses and residents complying with COVID-19 regulations.
On Wednesday morning, Andrew Barr told ABC's Radio National the protesters' behaviour had been "over the top" and they were "effectively stalking Canberrans, harassing business owners and residents, and aggressively flouting the law".
Later Wednesday, protesters have rallied outside various media organisations across Canberra.
The group first gathered outside Canberra FM offices in Crace on Wednesday morning before moving to the Prime 7 building in Dickson. They chanted "tell the truth" as police officers kept an eye on the situation.
They also arrived at the National Press Club in the afternoon, soon after former Australian of the Year Grace Tame and Parliament House whistleblower Brittany Higgins made an address.
👋 Big hi to the protesters at ABC Canberra; sorry most of us are working from home.
— Markus 🎲 (@MarkusMannheim) February 9, 2022
The convoy slowed down traffic and continued honking as they travelled from each location.
Police had been braced for protests to "peak" on Tuesday, as politicians returned to Parliament for the first sitting week of 2022.
But despite organisers billing the day as a major event, turnout appeared to fizzle compared to previous rallies on Saturday.
Mr Barr said the protesters "couldn't have a less receptive audience anywhere in the world" with Canberra - if not the most vaccinated city on the planet - among the most vaccinated cities.
He said that while there is respect for the right to protest, "what we've been seeing in the last week, has gone beyond peaceful or forceful protest".
"It's really a case of the protesters taking their anger and displeasure out on Canberrans and that's not fair," he said.
"It is an eccentric and eclectic bunch, there's no denying that. And it appears to have been infiltrated, or at least part of the protest movement has, by very extremist views."
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Meanwhile, on Tuesday United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly invited a delegation of anti-vaccine protesters into Parliament House to hand a statement of demands to the Prime Minister. This included a far-right Russian nationalist who has described Australia as an "enemy state".
ACT Policing and the ACT government will continue to monitor the protests over the coming days, with the activity believed to have hit its peak.
