Greens senator David Shoebridge slammed for joining violent anti-war protest

Greens senator David Shoebridge has directed an extraordinary rant at the Deputy Prime Minister during an anti-war rally outside Melbourne’s major weapons expo.

The senator, who is the minor party’s defence spokesman, was invited to attend the multi-day Disrupt Land Forces protest near the Spencer Street Bridge where violent clashes broke out between demonstrators and police on Wednesday.

Sitting with the Quakers for Peace group, Senator Shoebridge questioned the intentions of deputy PM Richard Marles, saying the Defence Minister wanted a ‘lucrative job’ with the weapons companies.

“Far too many politicians, and you can put Richard Marles or Kim Beazley… from both sides of politics, they make decisions about spending billions of dollars of public money on these weapons systems and then they go and take lucrative jobs with them afterwards,” he said.

“I call that out as a conflict of interest.”

At least 42 people have been arrested for assaulting and obstructing officers, arson attacks, and blocking roadways. Police claim a number of protesters also threw acid at some officers, and squirted an unknown irritant up the nostrils of some police horses on Wednesday.

Several Victoria Police officers were injured as a result, and the commissioner has defended the use of rubber bullets and capsicum spray, but Senator Shoebridge on Friday joined protesters to criticise the police for their violence.

“We say there’s no place for violence in public gatherings, but we call out the extreme violence that came from the Victorian Police,” he said.

“This is not Chicago 1968, this is Melbourne in 2024 and who would have thought that the State Government, here to protect arms manufacturers, would be putting rubber bullets and stun grenades, police horses, capsicum spray and tear gas against their own people?”

While more subdued protests had continued on Thursday and Friday, organisers had vowed to bring “renewed vigour” on the last day of the massive international exhibition.

Earlier, Mr Marles said accused the Greens of “licensing” the violent behaviour seen this week.

“I think this year, we have watched the Greens throw their lot in with thuggery time and time again,” Mr Marles said.

“They are not a party which (which can lay claim to) a platform of peaceful protest. You simply can’t make that argument, given we see Greens senators and Greens Members of Parliament turning up to events, protests such as this, events such as the CFMEU rally.”

Senator Shoebridge hit back, saying Mr Marles had done himself “no favours” with that statement.

“One of the Greens’ key pillars is peace and non-violence. We reject violence at protests, whether that comes from protestors or police,” he said.

“It’s extraordinary that not a single Labor minister or politician has been troubled by the level of police violence (we’ve seen).”

On Wednesday, Police Commissioner Shane Patton had lashed the protesters as “hypocritical” for using violence at an anti-war demonstration.

Police union secretary Wayne Gatt lasted Senator Shoebridge.

“It’s an easy position for him to take, one of ideology,” Mr Gatt said.

“It’s quite a different scenario when you are on a thin blue line,” he said.

“They (police) are easy to criticise on the basis of ideology.”