Anti-war protests shut down Perth streets as defence convention kicks off

Hundreds of anti-war protesters took to Perth streets on Tuesday to rally against the Land Forces Convention under way at Perth’s Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The three-day exhibition boasts being the largest land defence industry event and sparked violent protests in Melbourne when it was held there in 2024.

With more protests expected across the rest of the week, a major policing operation is under way – WA’s biggest operation in more than 15 years – to keep these demonstrations less eventful than those in Victoria.

On Tuesday, people were out in force but there were no arrests or notable incidents.

Members of the public as well as representatives from more than 30 organisations, marched in the CBD in the protest organised by the Anti-War Collective.

About 600 people voiced their disapproval, while many held placards and signs making it clear they don’t want Land Forces in the city and they don’t want weapons manufacturing in WA.

They even used a seven-metre-high inflatable missile to symbolise the threat of nuclear war, which they say hangs over Australia and the world.

For the duration of the convention a large police operation will remain in place, at a scale WA hasn’t seen since the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 15 years ago.

“The threat picture around Australia for terrorism is at ‘probable’, so that means there is a greater than 50 per cent chance of a terrorist incident occurring on shore, so that is one of the threats,” Commander Darren Sievwright told 9News.

The Maylands Command Centre is only used for major events but is up and running this week, as Perth plays host to the military trade show.

Drone vision is being beamed in live, along with CCTV from every angle of the convention centre, all displayed across the command centre’s wall-to-wall screens.

Live facial recognition technology is also being utilised in the $11.5 million exercise.

“The technology here is extensive, I think people don’t realise that the WA police lead the nation in terms of their deployment of new technology to keep people safe,” Police Minister Reece Whitby told 9News.

The multi-agency operation has been 12 months in the making and involves state and federal police, paramedics and transport officers.

If a critical incident were to happen officers can be deployed within seconds and other teams like the Tactical Response Group (TRG) and bomb squad are also on standby.