Vic parades, protests planned for Aust Day
Melbourne's official Australia Day parade will promote the city's diverse and multicultural community, while a far-right group is planning an anti-immigration event.
From mid-morning Saturday there will be a flag-raising ceremony attended by the governor and lord mayor, followed by the annual parade through city streets with more than 1000 participants.
"Nurture a sense of belonging by cheering on participants from a range of multicultural dancing and music groups, sporting and cultural associations," the Australia Day Vic website says.
From 11am the same day, at Federation Square, far-right activist Neil Erikson is holding his own 'Australia Day parade', noting on social media "this is not a protest".
"They're here to replace you," a promotional video for the event said of immigrants.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said there's no place for violence on Australia Day.
"Victoria Police are very well prepared in their operations to respond to protests, rallies, anyone seeking to cause harm or violence on that day," she told reporters on Thursday.
"I would encourage people to seek to talk about and spread their views but do it in a peaceful way.
"Unfortunately we will have to deploy quite significant police resources to make sure that is the case."
At state parliament, an "Invasion Day" protest will be held by members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community and supporters as debate rages over the most appropriate date to celebrate Australia Day.
"We will stand together and march together as our Elders have for the last 81 years this January 26 to protest the ongoing colonial violence on our people," a social media post for the event reads.
Across the state, councils will host citizenship ceremonies - apart from the inner-city councils of Darebin and Yarra, who lost their right to host them after councillors voted to shift them away from January 26 in 2017.
