Myer Christmas windows: Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen lashes ‘ugly’ protest after security concern cancellation

Victoria’s premier has criticised pro-Palestine protesters for “choosing to politicise Christmas” after Myer cancelled an event to open its famous festive windows.

The Christmas window display along Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall is a tourism hotspot for the CBD, but Myer canned its annual unveiling event planned for Sunday after a pro-Palestine group threatened a hold a protest action.

“In light of recent developments and to ensure the wellbeing and safety of customers and team members, we will no longer hold an event on Bourke Street Mall for the unveiling of our Christmas windows,” the retailer said on Thursday.

Myer said the window display would still be visible as planned from Sunday until early January.

Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the protest plans.

“We can’t let these sorts of ugly protests ruin these beautiful Christmas traditions,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne on Friday.

“Blocking Christmas windows is not going to change one single thing in the Middle East.

“This is a really small group of people who are choosing to politicise Christmas, to politicise a beautiful event.”

Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Nick Reece said he hoped protesters would realise they had made a mistake, urging them to change their plans.

“If there’s any good that can come out of this conversation ... it’s that the protesters realise that this is a dumb thing to do and that they decide to do something different this weekend rather than upset the Melbourne tradition,” he told ABC Radio.

Activist group Disrupt Wars planned a “Crash the Christmas Windows” action for Sunday, encouraging supporters to bring banners, flags, placards, noisemakers and props.

“Christmas is cancelled, and there will be no joy or frivolity while children in Gaza are massacred,” a social media post read.

It said the protest was designed to “inconvenience those who would rather bury their heads in the capitalist machine than speak up against a genocide”.

Victoria Police said it had repeatedly asked the group not to protest at the Christmas windows, but it would not cooperate.

“While we always respect the right for people to protest peacefully, we are clear that this should be done without impacting the broader community,” a police spokesperson said.

Myer was established by Russian Jewish immigrant Sidney Myer in the early 20th century and has 56 shops around Australia.

Viewing the Bourke Street store’s Christmas windows has been a tradition for many families since the display started in 1956.