Newcastle police have praised protesters from two opposing rallies held in the city yesterday for avoiding violence seen elsewhere in the country.
Separated by a patch of grass and a strong line of police officers, the Reclaim Australia rally and a counter protest brought together about 450 people in total at Newcastle’s Foreshore Park.
Brian Buckley-Clare attended the Reclaim Australia rally because of concerns he has with the halal certification of foods in Australia.
“I want it cut out,” he said.
“I don’t I feel I should be supporting somebody I don’t wish to support.”
The nearby rally against racism attracted slightly more people but Mr Buckley-Clare said he believes that is because some people were scared to come.
“A lot of people didn’t come because they were afraid of the violence,” he said.
“The media has been saying this Reclaim mob are ignorant and violent and it’s quite the opposite.”
The group was entertained by a singer who performed Australian classics including ‘Give Me A Home Among The Gumtrees.’
The counter rally reacted with chants of “No room for racists” and “Muslims are welcome.”
President of the Newcastle University Students Association Clare Swan said she felt compelled to get along to the counter rally.
“We need to come together in unity and support our Muslim community and not support racist agendas,” she said.
“It’s especially important for young people because it’s our Muslim students who bear the brunt of this racism.
“They’re the ones getting attacked and robbed at Newcastle uni and in the surrounding suburbs.”
More than 100 police officers from across the Hunter were in force to separate the crowds and maintain order, including members of the Dog Squad and the Riot Squad.
Newcastle Superintendent John Gralton said overall everything went smoothly.
“There were no arrests and we’re very very pleased with the general nature of the behaviour of most of the protesters,” he said.
“We had 103 police officers deployed to this operation because of the risks that did exist.”
The calm scenes in Newcastle were in contrast to similar rallies held across the country at the weekend, particularly in Melbourne, where officers used capsicum spray to subdue crowds.