Convoy to Canberra

The Canadian anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine mandate Freedom Convoy which began in Ottawa in late January 2022 inspired similar Facebook and Telegram groups in 34 countries including Australia. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy disavowed the protestors who purported to speak on behalf of indigenous people as part of the Convoy to Canberra, and criticised Sovereign citizen activists for hijacking Indigenous Australian activism. ==Timeline==

From 31 January 2022, a "Convoy to Canberra" consisting of thousands of protesters in trailers, trucks, cars and campervans gathered in Canberra, picketing the National Library of Australia, the Australian Parliament House and the National Press Club. Convoy participants vowed to remain to protest COVID-19 restrictions until the Australian Parliament sat on 8 February 2022. On 4 February, "Sovereign citizen" groups gathered outside police stations where supporters attempted to "serve papers" on public officials. That same day, the National Capital Authority objected to illegal camping and parking outside the National Library and requested that Police remove them. On 12 February, around 10,000 protesters converged on Parliament House and Old Parliament House. These protesters had camped at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC), after being moved on from the lawns next to the National Library. Police arrested three people including one man for breaching a fence while two others were arrested for disturbing the peace. Participants called for the elimination of mandates and the sacking of government ministers. In response, Police called on protesters to vacate by 13 February. In response to protest activity, Lifeline Canberra and the Capital Regional Farmers Market suspended their events due to safety concerns for customers. By 13 February, many of the Convoy to Canberra protesters had dispersed after being moved on from the EPIC camp ground ahead of preparations for the Royal Canberra Show. Some of them relocated to a private patch of farmland 45 minutes south of the Canberra CBD. The presence of the protesters had created friction with Canberra locals over the past two weeks. ==Responses==

Politicians On 12 February 2022, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended his government's COVID-19 mitigation policies and urged protesters to demonstrate in a "peaceful and respectful way." Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese called on them to return home and stated that their behaviour did little to advance their cause. On 8 February, the platform subsequently cancelled the pro-Convoy fundraising campaign on the grounds that it had violated its terms of service; returning more than A$179,000 to donors. On 10 February, Crikey reported that several fake Facebook accounts based in India, Bangladesh and Canada were being used to organise the Convoy to Canberra protest and to solicit donations. One notable account purportedly belonged to a Canadian named James Rhodes was found to have an artificially generated image while the administrator of another group was revealed to be a Bangladeshi man named Shamim Khan. While Facebook and Telegram were being used to advertise the protest and coordinate attendees, crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe and GiveSendGo were being used to raise funds for the protests. Meta Platforms subsequently deleted a Convoy to Canberra Facebook group, which claimed 177,000 members. On 17 February, a follow-up Crikey report found that at least two Convoy to Canberra Facebook groups were linked to Bangladeshi Facebook users, who had been paid by organisers of the Australian and Canadian convoy protests to promote these Facebook groups and their content. Crikey also reported that 588 Australian-based donors had donated US$33,734 to the Canadian Freedom convoy via GiveSendGo. ==References==