30 Anti-Trans Activists Shut Down Melbourne: Inside the Massive Police Exclusion Zone

It was 10 am when I arrived on scene at the planned anti-transgender protest, the final one before the new anti-villification laws would criminalise such behaviour. Despite efforts to boost turnout and bring in notable figures like Lyle Shelton from Adelaide, organisers managed to attract only about thirty attendees.

This is largely due to the massive exclusion zone Victoria Police had implemented, stopping most people from getting within 300 meters of the planned protest location.

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Even well before the protest began, around 10:15 am, a bride and groom struggled to convince the Police to let them anywhere near the parliament building for some wedding photos

There was one massive upside to the incredible levels of police protection at this protest: the public did not get a chance to see or hear any of it. The cordon extended for several city blocks, with people as far away as Little Collins Street being turned away.

While police surrounded the scene, I overheard Victoria Police officers making disparaging comments about transgender people and counter-protestors. Counter-protestors were standing against the anti-trans activists’ work towards a world where trans people are not allowed to live as equals, yet the police conversations I heard showed no sign of sympathy. This no doubt coloured the experience I had with Victoria Police later that day.

Anti-trans activists began arriving, with all the most prominent figures in Australian anti-trans activism in attendance. The glaring omission is people on the periphery. Nobody beyond the core fanatics and the far-right media was in attendance.

Twenty minutes after the anti-trans activists arrived, one of them noticed me sitting on the floor, taking notes she then took it upon herself to ask Victoria Police to remove me from the area. At no point did I speak to any of the anti-trans activists. I was sitting well away from the protest, not causing any disturbance, taking notes for the journalism work I do here at LucyFromNaarm.

Victoria Police, out in full force, needed to Police something, so they decided that a tranny in the wrong place is a crime worthy of physical force and assault. About ten minutes later, despite their claims of needing to move me on due to the immediate threat of harm, and despite my lawful resistance and objections, Victoria Police officers dragged me 200 meters away to the perimeter of their transgender exclusion zone. They threatened me with arrest if I returned.

Being transgender in the wrong place is not a crime. I will escalate this further and explore options for taking action. I have a right to report on protests, even ones that don’t agree with my existence.

Ultimately, despite ring-ins flying in from interstate like Lyle Shelton and the entire far-right Australian so-called independent media being in attendance like Rukshan and Avi Yemini — and the organisers' long lead time and best efforts — the anti-transgender protest was an abject failure with abysmal turnout and a massive exclusion zone preventing anyone from witnessing the affair.

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