The excessive police violence against anti-war protesters opposing the multi-million-dollar weapons’ expo Land Forces shows just how far the ruling class is prepared to go to normalise war and militarism.
Victoria Police, renowned for its violence, backed up by NSW Police, used rubber bullets, flash bangs, pepper spray and tear gas on peaceful protesters, who were trying to defend themselves.
An activist photographer even lost part of his ear from being hit by a rubber bullet.
The Age reporter Cameron Houston witnessed “police firing up to a dozen rubber bullets over a period of about 20 minutes”. He said Daily Mail reporter Wayne Flower was also shot with a rubber bullet.
Victoria Police denied targeting journalists, blaming protesters for having to use weapons.
The Labor government surely knew that, as the Gaza war stretches to almost a year, a weapons expo, including with Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems, was going to become a focus of the anti-war, pro-Palestine movement.
Labor could have pulled out of its sponsorship and cancelled the event. Instead, it decided arms dealers’ future profits were more important.
It spent a reported $15 million on the police operation, which was largely a training exercise given that there were more police than anti-war activists on the biggest protest day.
In general, the corporate media ran with the police line, blaming “cohorts” of protesters, except when reporters also became targets.
Normalising police violence goes hand in hand with federal Labor’s push for Australia to become one of the world’s top 10 arms exporters.
The value of Australia’s arms exports, over 2023-2024, is estimated to be more than $100 billion. State governments are touting their military investment credentials, with Victoria being a key player.
Despite the cost-of-living and housing crisis, Labor is spending upwards of $368 billion on nuclear-powered submarines, as part of AUKUS. The second pillar of this military alliance directs billions of dollars of our money to research and development of lethal weapons.
The Disrupt Land Forces protests, which peaked at just over 1500 people, included young and older anti-war activists, who object to resources being diverted to militarism and war.
They were also there to oppose Labor’s support for Israel, given that several Israeli weapons companies were displaying their military wares.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said anti-war protesters brought hate and division, a lie echoed by former Liberal defence minister Christopher Pyne on the ABC’s 7.30.
Pyne, always a war enthusiast, now a weapons industry consultant, claimed that people have a “right to protest” but not to be violent, which is why the police had to step in.
The irony wasn’t lost on many. The images of all the weapons of war on display inside Land Forces, and the highly militarised police attacking unarmed demonstrators outside, undid their attempts to paint anti-war protesters as the violence ones.
Pyne argued that weapons are really just “deterrents”, a ridiculous proposition as the war in Gaza shows. Elbit Systems champions its weapons as being “battle tested”. He also argued that weapons “protects democracy” and “shared interests”, stopping short of saying whose.
The interest Land Forces was serving was the profit margins of the already cashed-up arms manufacturers.
Spending on “defence” is very big business. Militaries act for the ruling class. Capitalism relies on war to open new markets for their ruling class to continue to make profits. Shareholders of arms manufacturers also make big returns on their investments.
The United States justifies its record breaking US$916 billion military budget as “defence”. However, it is really about trying to isolate economic competitors, such as China, even at the risk of starting a new war.
As Israel risks driving the Middle East into all-out war and state and federal Labor continue to back it and the US, over Palestine, we have an opportunity to build a bigger and more dynamic anti-war movement that challenges capital’s need for war.
[Jacob Andrewartha took part in the Disrupt Land Forces protest. He is a national co-convenor of the Socialist Alliance.]