Protesters have crashed a Labor conference in Victoria, allegedly vandalising statues in an effort to call-out the government’s “racist” asylum seeker policies.
A crowd gathered at the entrance to the Moonee Valley Racecourse where the Prime Minister and Premier Dan Andrews addressed hundreds of Labor members at the party’s state conference on Saturday.
The group includes representatives of the Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance who are holding banners and chanting over a loudspeaker.
“Down at the Vic Labor party conference demanding they stop torturing refugees,” a WACA spokesperson wrote in a post to their Facebook.
Photographs from the scene show police officers on site as a cleaner blasts the statue in honour of beloved racehorse Winx after it was defaced with the words “Deportation = Death” spray-painted in red letters.
In a call-out to WACA members on Friday morning, the group said they are protesting the federal government’s lack of action to improve the nation’s border policies, and put pressure on the Victorian government to campaign for faster progress.
“Victorian Labor will tell you they don‘t hold power to change border policies, and that it’s a Federal issue. However, we know that Victorian Labor can vote for better refugee policies at the Federal Conference, and push within the party,” they said in a post.
“We‘ve seen this in the reopening of Nauru, the continued detention of 501’s, the continued enforcement of Operation Sovereign Borders, and a p**sweak budget that shows just where Labor’s priorities stand.”
They asked protesters to join them with “pots, pans, banners, signs, megaphones, and chants” outside the conference entrance on Saturday.
In a video shared to social media, protesters can be seen chanting at the front entrance as Labor members filter into the conference.
“Hello, welcome to the conference on how to torture refugees just like the Liberal Party,” one protester says before appealing to guests to campaign against the current policies.
“If you could please vote to end the madness, to stop torturing people,” she said.
Victoria Police have not made any arrests at the conference.