Four people were arrested at the Cotter campground on Monday night for failing to obey a legal direction to move on.
Hundreds of campers migrated down to the Cotter after visitors involved in the anti-vax, anti-mandate "freedom" protest were evicted from Exhibition Park on Sunday.
Three people who failed to leave had been arrested at Exhibition Park yesterday - all for trespassing, and one for resisting police.
At the Cotter, boulders placed to prevent illegal parking and camping around the campground had been moved, and vehicles had been parked in non-allocated areas.
"We're not going; we've got nowhere else to go," people camped at the Cotter were reported to have told police.
Large groups camping at the Cotter - usually 30 people or more - are also required to lodge a public land permit with ACT City Services 28 days in advance including such details as evidence of public liability insurance, a waste management plan and a detailed site map.
Melbourne activist Michael Griffith criticised the move on tactics adopted by police and said "if you keep moving them on, moving them on, you're going to have a lot of homeless people in Canberra".
He also said that many of the protesters arrived in Canberra penniless and "on the fumes of their [cars'] petrol tank and now have nowhere to go".
"It's poetic, because ultimately Canberra is the reason for it," he said.
"They could have stopped it. They know the states are the one which enforces mandates but let's not bullshit around the bush.
"If Scomo had wanted to stop it, he could. They were ways around this.
"They [the protesters] are here for their dignity, they are here to be heard ... they are here to get their lives back on track.
"You've taken everything from these people and they have nothing to lose. Nothing."
An option which appears to be open to the protest group but faces a legal challenge is a location on Top Naas Road, in Booth.
The cost to the ACT government of the policing effort is certain to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, above and beyond what is covered in the $180 million a year contract cost charged by the Australian Federal Police to provide community policing to the ACT.
Melbourne activist Michael Griffith after police moved on a large group (including him) illegally camping at the Cotter River.
— Markus 🎲 (@MarkusMannheim) February 14, 2022
"You're going to have an awful lot of people homeless in Canberra ... You've taken everything from these people and they have nothing to lose. Nothing." pic.twitter.com/wggFRyPDAd
The contract does cover a small amount of additional duties but not on a scale of this size, in which dozens of police have been recalled to duty - some from interstate - at extra cost and will be required to be paid overtime.
The costs of Operation Hawker began to mount last week when thousands of protesters camped out illegally on the Patrick White lawns in front of the National Library and had to be moved on. That effort involved about 150 officers.
The protest group then relocated to Exhibition Park, where they were permitted to stay until the pre-booked bump-in for the Royal Canberra Show was required on Monday, with 450 stables required to be set up ahead of the major agricultural event.
ACT Commander of Police Operations Linda champion said there were potentially not enough places for people to camp in the ACT and advised visitors against setting up an illegal camp in the ACT.
"If you are camped illegally, you will be moved on," she said.
