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A crowd of anti-vaccination protesters gathered on the lawns of Parliament House on Tuesday, ahead of mass demonstrations.
Police had warned Tuesday’s protests, which coincide with the resumption of federal parliament, would be the largest yet since the Convoy to Canberra descended on the national capital last week.
Vocal anti-vaccination government senator Gerard Rennick was among those protesting outside Parliament House.
The Senator was handed a list of demands by the protesters and told the crowd he would hand them directly to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The rogue Liberal said he was working to make sure children were not vaccinated against COVID-19.
United Australia Party MP Craig Kelly, who has been a vocal advocate against vaccines, also negotiated for a small group of protesters to be signed into Parliament House as his visitors.
The building has been closed to the public during the sitting fortnight due to COVID-19 protocols.
Police officials said as many as 3000 people were expected at Tuesday’s rally, with many roads around Parliament House blocked off.
There has been a large police presence around Parliament House, with protesters forced to stay inside large orange barricades set up on the front lawns.
It came after demonstrators targeted the governor-general’s official Canberra residence, Government House, along with the ABC Canberra newsroom in the city’s inner-north on Monday.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign that had raised more than $179,000 for the protests has been cancelled by the crowdfunding site.
The campaign was removed from the website for breaching GoFundMe’s terms of service.
– AAP