ALEISHA OWEN AND MATTHEW WILLIAMS, VIDEO STORY: MELANIE WHITING
More than a hundred members of Hacktivist group Anonymous took to the streets of Brisbane today for their annual Million Masks March.
Close to 150 protesters marched through the city’s closed-off streets, many wearing the iconic Guy Fawkes masks that have come to represent the movement.
Protesters wound their way through the Brisbane CBD, brandishing signs protesting against globalism, free trade agreements, genetically modified food and government corruption.
The police were taking no chances, with a significant police presence ensuring the protest remained peaceful.
As the procession moved through the streets, loud choruses of “whose streets?” and replies of “our streets!” could be heard amidst calls for justice.
The march ended outside Brisbane City Hall, with speakers delivering impassioned demands for societal change.
“On this journey together, we may well change the world,” Evan, one of the organisers said.
Despite calling for change, the protest itself seemed to lack any clear direction with a wide range of leftist issues being touched upon.
Bystanders were largely bemused by the spectacle, with one onlooker who didn’t wish to be identified asking, “what are they even protesting about?”
Frustrated motorists blared horns as the march disrupted the start of afternoon peak hour traffic.
The Brisbane march was part of a worldwide movement, with similar protests taking place in Auckland, Sydney and London.
The group holds their march on November 5 each year, as a tribute to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.