Pro-Palestine protests cost $25 million in policingFarid FaridAAPFri, 19 September 2025 5:26AM
A two-year policing operation to ensure weekly protests in Melbourne’s centre against the carnage in Gaza go off without a hitch have cost taxpayers more than $25 million.
The figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office show Operation Park, launched in October 2023 by Victoria Police, show operational costs reached $10.2 million making up 40 per cent of total expenditure.
The other costs, $14.9 million, were in relation to police officer salaries to the nearly 24,000 shifts logged.
Last weekend marked the 100th protest.
“Almost 60 per of total expenditure relates to police officer salary costs, which are considered business‑as‑usual costs,” the parliamentary office said.
“These costs would have been incurred regardless of whether a major protest or demonstration occurs.”
Operational costs include everything from allowances and overtime to corporate costs, communications and transport.
But Victorian opposition leader Brad Battin said the protests were wasting police resources.
He said the weekly marches “hijacked” the city and “made Melbourne a less safe and less fun place to visit.”
Mr Battin said the Liberals would introduce a protest registration system to ensure protests “don’t divert police attention from fighting crime.”
Opposition police spokesman David Southwick, who requested the independent costings on August 21, pointed the finger at Premier Jacinta Allan.
“Victoria has gone from the protest state to the hate state, and her weak leadership has allowed extremists to hijack our streets without consequences,” he said.
Activists in Melbourne and around the country have been pouring into the streets for nearly two years on a weekly basis since October 7, 2023 when militant group Hamas reportedly killed 1200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages in a cross-border attack.
The subsequent military assault on the blockaded enclave by Israel has killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians including more than 20,000 children, according to aid agencies.
A United Nations inquiry comprising three members, including former Australian Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti, on Tuesday found Israel had committed genocide, which it has repeatedly denied.
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