Police were called to intervene after pro-Palestine protesters blockaded the Port of Melbourne for several days.Credit:Nine
“I understand that people do get inconvenienced,and that’s unfortunately a reality of industrial relations,and it’s a reality of civil protests which people have a right to do,provided it is civil,” he said.
Victoria Police said they used pepper spray to disperse the crowd when it swelled from about 40 to 120 people. Nine people were charged with trespassing and one person is expected to be charged with criminal damage on Tuesday.
Activists claim the police were heavy-handed and overzealous in their use of pepper spray,with Melbourne Activist Legal Support referring the complaint to police command.
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Volunteers who attended the demonstration say pepper spray was used against people who didn’t present a direct threat and,in one instance,police dragged a person out of a wheelchair.
The group said it had referred its complaints to several law firms and a more detailed statement of concern would be released to police command and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
Porchietto said police should have the right to defend themselves,as would be expected in any country around the world.
“Police did a fantastic job in moving out those people which are pretty aggressive,and it did this very smoothly with basically no violence,” he said.
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A large police presence is expected at the port throughout the day to stop protesters from returning and resuming the blockade.
Hundreds of port workers had been prevented from entering the site due to the blockade. Transport operators were awaiting advice from port authorities on Tuesday morning about whether trucks would be able to access the port.
A ZIM vessel that arrived on Friday has now been scheduled to depart on Tuesday evening,while another two vessels shipping ZIM containers are set to depart in the next 48 hours.
Police said in a statement the blockade had gone on so long because,without a request from property owners,they had not been authorised to intervene.
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Porchietto said he had contacted Port of Melbourne to have police intervene over the weekend but had been told police did not have the resources. He said he was unaware that he should have contacted police directly.
“The chain of communication was not followed properly,” he said.
A demonstrator from the blockade will speak about the police intervention during a planned protest at Flagstaff Gardens on Tuesday.
A group calling on the City of Melbourne to condemn attacks on Gaza will meet at the gardens from 6pm.
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More than 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been reported killed since Israel began bombing the territory after Hamas’s October 7 attacks,in which 1200 people were killed.
Free Palestine Melbourne said the council should publicly display the Palestinian flag for six months and cancel contracts with companies that support Israel’s offensive.
In a statement,Port of Melbourne said its priority was the safe operation of the port and the movement of goods for Victorians.