Officers use capsicum spray to break up blockade and arrest a dozen climate protesters outside a mining conference in Melbourne

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

Victoria police have defended the actions of their officers over two days of protests at a mining conference in Melbourne, after one protester was hospitalised and reporters covering the event were pushed by police and pepper-sprayed.

A dozen climate change protesters have been arrested on day two of action outside a global mining conference in Melbourne, where activists glued themselves to the ground.

Officers used capsicum spray to break up the blockade on Wednesday, which was designed to prevent conference delegates entering the Convention and Exhibition Centre.

It led to 12 activists being arrested, the majority for intentionally obstructing an emergency services worker, as they blocked access including via disabled ramps.

Two people who glued themselves to a carpark access ramp have since been removed while another woman who “locked on” to a handrail has come unstuck, police said.

Climate protesters clash with police outside Melbourne mining conference Read more

“Whilst we respect the rights of people to peacefully protest, the unlawful action undertaken today is a drain on police resources from across greater Melbourne,” a police statement reads, adding all actions taken by officers were in line with training.

An unnamed protester said she’d been told to move back before police “went wild”.

“My friend got arrested, I got pepper-sprayed, it was crazy,” she told 3AW.

Channel 7 journalist Paul Dowsley tweeted he was “stunned” after video of him being pushed by police was tweeted by Australian journalist Tessa Akerman. Dowsley said he was ““obeying [police] direction to move to another area” at the time of the incident.

Paul Dowsley (@pauldowsley7) Incredible. I was obeying their direction to move to another area. I’m stunned. https://t.co/YsZDIjc9jO

Police contradicted the journalist’s version of events in a statement: “It is unfortunate that members of the public, including journalists, are not following instructions by members of Victoria police.

“In this case, the reporter involved did not follow police instructions to move away from the area. This was a safety issue and Victoria Police believes an appropriate amount of force was used to move the reporter from the area.”

Student journalist at Farrago, Ailish Hallinan, also tweeted she had been pepper sprayed by police during the protests, despite not being involved in the blockade.

Ailish Hallinan (@AilishHallinan) Today I was reporting on #IMARC for @FarragoMagazine. I was not involved in the blockade, just a student journalist peacefully observing. Yet I was still pepper sprayed by police. This police brutality MUST end. @VictoriaPolice pic.twitter.com/CAwufSQGyJ

The premier, Daniel Andrews, has backed police efforts to bring order to the protest.

Stephanie Ferrier (@FerrierSteph) Violence erupts as police detain one of the climbers ⁦@abcmelbourne⁩ ⁦@abcnews⁩ pic.twitter.com/usDwcsO9ov

“I will always support the right of every Victorian, if they so choose, to peacefully protest. But there is a big difference between peaceful protest and what we saw yesterday and potentially today,” he said during question time in parliament.

It comes after hundreds of police and protesters clashed on Tuesday outside the conference, with four officers injured and a protester hospitalised with leg injuries.

Almost 50 people were arrested on Tuesday and police continue to dedicate hundreds of officers to the protest as the conference continues until Thursday.

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The Victorian opposition leader, Michael O’Brien, backed the police who he said were “trying to make sure that these ferals can’t stop people going about their lawful business in this state”.

Organisers of the International Mining and Resources Conference (Imarc) insist it was “business as usual” inside the centre and protests had failed to disrupt the meeting, which was due to attract some 7,000 delegates from more than 100 countries.

The resources minister, Matt Canavan, told the conference attendees to ignore the protests outside.

“Don’t give an inch to the protesters outside on these points. I am happy for the Australian resources industry to take the Pepsi morality challenge against other businesses any day of the week.”

Delegates heard about commitments within the industry to prioritise ethical sourcing and meet climate change goals, organisers said, having accused protesters of being misdirected in targeting the conference.