Police are braced for a massive and potentially violent rally at Parliament House on Tuesday, which they warn will likely prove the "peak" of anti-vaccine protests engulfing the capital.
New arrivals are joining thousands of interstate protesters already in Canberra ahead of the parliamentary sitting fortnight, a week after demonstrations first erupted.
The Convoy to Canberra on Monday targeted the ABC and Government House, with some protesters mobbing and abusing police officers attempting to intervene.
It came as United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly told The Canberra Times he will invite a delegation of the protesters into Parliament House on Tuesday, where security has been tightened over fears for politicians' safety.
AFP Commander of Operations Linda Champion said Tuesday, when a mass demonstration will coincide with the return of Parliament, would likely prove the "peak" of the protests.
The AFP was drawing on all areas of its resources - including detectives usually assigned to crime - to deal with the spot demands of multiple scenes breaking out across Canberra.
And with roughly 3000 loosely affiliated protesters set to descend on Parliament House on Tuesday, at least 150 officers - bolstered by a heavily armed specialist response group - will be deployed.
"Police are here to do our job to keep the community safe, and we are putting every resource we can towards these protesters and their activities throughout the week," Commander Champion said.
Authorities were hampered by the lack of organisational structure within the protest, meaning there were no clear leaders with whom to liaise.
"We hope that everybody participates in a lawful and calm protest; we are the nation's capital and we expect that people will do that and will not tolerate unlawful activity," Commander Champion said.
Political support
United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly, who has regularly parroted COVID-19 vaccine conspiracies, told The Canberra Times he was negotiating to have a protest delegation hand a statement of demands to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Labor leader Anthony Albanese, and Speaker Andrew Wallace.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said they had "no plans" to meet the delegation.
Despite COVID-19 rendering Parliament closed to the public during the sitting fortnight, MPs and staff were entitled to sign in guests.
But anyone moving around the building is required to wear a mask, a potential sticking point for a movement which has made opposing masks central to its cause.
Mr Kelly confirmed his desire to address the crowd on Tuesday.
On Friday, police forcibly removed an illegal campsite set up on the lawns of the National Library at the beginning of the week.
Mr Kelly hosted a barbeque at the group's new campsite at EPIC on Monday, but denied rumours circulating among the group that UAP chairman Clive Palmer was funding their stay.
The movement has also gained support from within the government, with Nationals MP George Christensen attending a protest at Old Parliament House on Saturday.
Liberal senators Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic in November threatened to withhold their votes until vaccine mandates were lifted - a key demand of the protest movement.
Mr Rennick revealed he would "probably" address the crowd on Tuesday. After a week of Coalition disunity, the Liberal senator insisted he was helping the government's chances of holding power in what would be a "single-issue election".
"If [the Prime Minister] took my advice, I think it'd be very helpful to him," he told reporters.
New targets
The anti-vaccine protesters turned their attention to Government House on Monday, where a crowd demanded Governor-General David Hurley dismiss Australia's democratically elected government.
Police officers were mobbed and abused as they attempted to remove two flags - an upside down red ensign, and an Aboriginal flag - erected on a Government House flagpole.
The officers, who ultimately decided against removing the flags until the mob dispersed, were encircled as the crowd chanted "shame on you".
While many directed abusive language at the officers, other protesters urged respect and non-violence.
After dispersing at around midday, a handful moved to the ABC building on Northbourne Avenue, where they shouted anti-media vitriol through loudspeakers.
Five police cars were required to redirect traffic around the gathering, specialist response group members were on standby, and a dozen police officers stationed outside the building to block illegal entry.
The protesters have zigzagged across the capital for a week, targeting political sites - Parliament House, Old Parliament House, the National Press Club and Canberra Airport - as well as local businesses complying with COVID-19 regulations.
Reports of protesters abusing mask-wearing members of the public have been received by police, who have asked people not to take matters into their own hands.
Police attempting to remove an upside down red ensign and an indigenous flag hoisted on a pole outside Government House are mobbed by the crowd, chanting “shame on you”. Flags remain. Leaders on the mic urge non-violence @canberratimes#CanberraConvoypic.twitter.com/714DXJkt90
— Finn McHugh (@FinnianMchugh) February 7, 2022
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the protesters were "making more enemies than friends", and would be moved on from EPIC to make way for Lifeline's annual bookfair.
"We need the facility for other events. We understand that there will be some protest activity today and tomorrow. But beyond that, I would expect those people to move on," he told reporters in Queanbeyan.
Mr Barr hit out at the protesters' "pretty dismal effort" in a city where over 99 per cent of the eligible population has come forward for COVID-19 vaccines.
"Canberra is one of the most vaccinated cities on Earth, so the message from these protesters is really not gelling with Canberrans, who are educated, who understand the value of vaccination as a way of protecting themselves, their family, their friends and indeed their fellow citizens," he said on Monday.
