Video and images show police clashing with protestors as well as protestors covering members of the public near the convention centre with liquid.
The Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition is a defence and weapons exhibition with a variety of meetings, presentations, awards and other gatherings taking place within its footprint.
A previous iteration of the event, held in Brisbane in 2021, was also the biggest beneficiary of the pandemic-era Business Events Grants Program that was generally considered unsuccessful by the industry as an attempt at support during the lockdown years of the pandemic.
A statement from Victoria Police discussing protest action today has confirmed 33 protestors have been arrested while 24 police officers have required medical attention, after protestors threw rocks at police and sprayed the force with “a liquid irritant, some of which has been identified as acid”. In addition, protestors have lit fires in the streets around the convention centre.
The statement also confirmed that around 1,200 people attended the protest around Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) before midday and that police had used pepper spray on some protestors.
Comments from the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, had put the protester numbers higher – at two to three thousand.
Some streets around the convention centre have been closed due to the protest action, with protestors located on both sides of the Yarra River, beside which MCEC sits.
However reporting from the ABC suggests afternoon rain in Melbourne reduced the number of protestors.
The Land Forces exposition is set to continue tomorrow and Friday at MCEC, with organisers expecting the largest ever attendance.
The event was moved to Melbourne for 2024, with MCEC able to offer more space than other centres. When the relocation was announced in early 2023, organisers were expecting it to remain in Melbourne “beyond” 2024.
MCEC said it “is working closely with the event organisers, the Victorian Government and Victoria Police to deliver a safe event”.
