A Victorian MP fined for attending an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne has said the group should have been allowed to rally despite Covid-19 guidelines banning large gatherings and some attendees holding fringe views.
The Liberal Democratic MP David Limbrick and his electorate officer, Gavin Atkins, were among 395 people who were fined by Victoria police during Tuesday’s so-called freedom day protest outside state parliament.
Police arrested 404 people and issued penalty infringement notices for offences including not wearing a mask, breaching public gathering directions, travelling more than 25km from their home, assaulting police, and failing to state their name and address.
Limbrick said he had been told by police he would be sent an infringement notice for failing to comply with directions. The fine is $1,652.
There have been a series of protests against Victoria’s hard lockdown which ended last week. Some groups promoting the rallies online also espouse conspiracy theories which are considered potentially dangerous by authorities, including claiming 5G is harmful, believing Covid-19 is a myth, and in some cases, supporting QAnon.
But Limbrick said people should be allowed to protest regardless of their beliefs. He said there were similarities between the views of those who rallied this week and those who attended a Black Lives Matter march in June.
He also went to the Black Lives Matter rally and said in both instances he had attended to speak to people about their concerns.
“A lot of them [on Tuesday] had concerns about the behaviour of police and human rights, ironically the same concerns as at the Black Lives Matter march,” Limbrick said.
“At any sort of protest you get a mix of people and there’s going to be people who have fringe ideas … [but] a lot of people I spoke to yesterday said it was the first march they’d ever been to. They said I was the first politician they’d ever met.”
Limbrick said he believed people were becoming politically active because during the lockdown they had their liberties taken away. “When you take away people’s freedom, and government starts intruding in people’s lives, people will react,” he said.
The upper house MP, who plans to contest the fine, was critical of police for cordoning off smaller groups of protestors and holding them in place for several hours before gradually arresting them. He said the tactic had increased the public health risk.
Footage of the protest appeared to show that most attendees were not wearing masks.
Victoria police said the conduct of protestors was disappointing and they would continue to fine those who breached Covid-19 restrictions. A spokeswoman said a policewoman had suffered a suspected broken arm while trying to arrest a protester.
“Victoria police will not hesitate to fine those who clearly and blatantly breach the chief health officer directions,” the spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
