Largest ever Land Forces exhibition underway in Melbourne despite protests

Victoria Police has established an exclusion zone and been deployed in force around the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) for the 2024 Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition.

With up to 20,000 anti-war and pro-Palestine demonstrators rumoured to be descending on the city to protest the show, police closed busy Clarendon Street between MCEC and the Crown Casino and Spencer Street Bridge, and established a safety cordon and controlled entry points for delegates and exhibitors around the centre.

Numbers have failed to materialise and most of the estimated 1500 protesters who showed up on the first day of the show remained peaceful.

But fringe groups targeted some delegates by screaming obscenities and throwing liquids. This escalated into clashes with police which saw projectiles, faeces and various liquids thrown, and rubbish bins and pallets burned.

Mounted police and officers on foot retaliated with pepper spray and actively targeted suspected protest leaders and separated them from the pack. Police say 27 officers required medical treatment while 42 protesters were arrested.

A police spokesperson described the scene in a statement: “This morning, those police have been pelted with missiles including bottles filled with liquid, rocks, and horse manure whilst trying to protect the attendees of the Land Forces expo, some of whom were also assaulted by protesters.

“Some police have been spat at by protesters, whilst other officers have been sprayed with a liquid irritant, some of which has been identified as acid.

“Officers have been forced to deploy various tactical options, including foam baton rounds, flash distraction devices, and PAVA powder (capsicum spray) to respond to those committing offences and to deter further offending.”

In an interview on breakfast TV on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “People have a right to protest peacefully, but you don’t say you’re opposed to defence equipment by throwing things at police. They’ve got a job to do and our police officers should be respected at all times.”

Inside the MCEC, multiple layers of security for the delegates including identification checks, bag searches and metal detectors mean there has so far been no repeat of previous years when protesters gained entry and disrupted the exhibition.

Nearly 1000 companies and organisations are exhibiting their products and services on the MCEC’s 70,000-square metre exhibition space, while 77 conferences, symposia and presentations are also being held. Defence, government and industry delegations from more than 30 countries are in attendance.

Expo organiser AMDA Foundation says the show is Australia’s largest ever defence and industry exposition. It says the event is primarily a platform for Australian industry, government and the Australian Defence Force to engage on the technologies and equipment required to fulfil the Army’s future capability needs as set out in the government’s 2024 National Defence Strategy.

Apart from large prime companies, hundreds of small to medium enterprises (SME) also have displays, either on their own or at shared stands facilitated by state government bodies.

Companies from the ACT and its local region are again well represented at Land Forces 2024.

ACT Defence delegate Karen Schilling said Team Canberra was sharing its stand with UNSW Canberra for Land Forces.

“We’ve got a large stand at Land Forces we’re sharing with University of NSW, and they’ve got a few of their up-and-coming technology partners and research areas,” she said.

“We’ve got consulting, tech companies, and some real innovative solutions here, a couple of which are not done anywhere else in the world.

“Companies like MRead that does mine detection in a different way are looking at doing humanitarian trials for their product. Others are looking at adapting to future needs, looking at things like AUKUS Pillar 2 capabilities, et cetera.”

Ms Schilling was pleased to see other Canberra area companies, such as CEA Technologies and AeroPM, which have graduated from the Team Canberra stand to host their own standalone booths at the show.

“Part of my role is looking at how we uplift the maturity of the ecosystem,” she said.

“We have 11 companies on our stand here, but we’ve also got a lot of companies that used to be on our stand that have now got their own areas.”