Australia PM Scott Morrison slams ‘ugly racial protests’ in Melbourne
- Anti-immigration rally on Saturday in St Kilda drew hundreds of demonstrators and counterprotesters, with police trying to keep them apart
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday slammed “ugly racial protests” in Australia’s second-largest city, after some far-right demonstrators were seen making Nazi salutes.
An anti-immigration rally at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne drew hundreds of demonstrators and counter-protesters on Saturday, but a large Victoria Police presence was broadly successful in keeping the two groups apart.
“I thank Vic police for their efforts dealing with the ugly racial protests we saw in St Kilda yesterday. Intolerance does not make Australia stronger,” Morrison tweeted. “Australia is the most successful migrant country in the world … Let’s keep it that way, it makes Australia stronger.”
Victoria Police Superintendent Tony Silva said on Saturday there was three arrests but no officers or member of the public were known to have been hurt.
Immigration remains a hot-button issue in Australia amid concern about jobs and overcrowding in major cities.