Protesters had no strategy, sense or tolerance

If you're wanting to protest, have the intelligence to look up the sitting weeks calendar or go to their electorate offices.

I do hope ACT government parking inspectors collected thousands in illegal parking fines along Parkes Way and elsewhere.

Our city needs to hit these protesters hard financially.

For me the best best part of the traffic jammed Saturday was telling a group with obvious single digit IQs that they had the New Zealand flag, not the Australian one.

I kept hearing "freedom". Don't these people understand that public safety means you don't have the freedom to drive on the wrong side of the road, shops don't have the freedom to sell contaminated food, car travellers don't have the freedom to not wear a seatbelt, and you can't smoke on a plane.

You're "freedom" is already limited because you are a citizen of the world.

All governments, whether democracies or dictatorships, know they have to protect their people from COVID-19.

This isn't political; it is about public health and safety.

The protesters think they can win hearts and minds by threatening to bash my car if I don't honk? Seriously? No strategy, no sense, and just plain selfish.

What are we going to do with this protesting rabble and the risk they pose to public health?

I thought we were at war with COVID-19. More than 98.5 per cent of us are compliant. Many are staying home, even if triple-vaxxed, to avoid the very contagious Omicron strain.

The usual Australian vaccine take up is about 95 per cent. Those unable to be vaccinated for COVID-19 are less than 0.01 per cent of the population.

It is unacceptable and un-Australian for a small vocal minority to endanger the health of the rest of us.

There are two paths here; either restrict the unvaccinated to home detention or have statutory vaccination. We have the latter for those people in contact work situations already, and employers will have compensation cases if they allow vaccinated and unvaccinated employees to mix.

The behaviour of the rabble who forced the cancellation of the Lifeline Bookfair was unacceptable. Are we to have a Trump inspired invasion of Parliament House as well?

We may need to arrest the rabble and hold them in detention. After all, if it's okay to do that to refugees ...

People could exit detention freely by choosing to leave Canberra.

We must restore the liberty of Canberrans.

On Saturday I saw a lone kayaker holding a sign reading "Thanks Health Workers - Ken Behrens" on one side and "Pro Science, Pro Health, Pro Vax" on the other, near the Commonwealth Ave park and bridge as the hordes of anti-vaxxer protesters swarmed towards an empty Parliament.

The kayaker was constantly abused with shouts, some rather vile, and pelted with fruit when he drifted too close.

I understand the anti-vaxxers want respect from locals while protesting (as is their right) but obviously they did not reciprocate to the solitary kayaker. Somewhat hypocritical?

Given vaccine and mask mandates are state and territory responsibilities why do they bother protesting in Canberra, not in their own jurisdictions?

It was heartening to learn that the ACT government passed $25,000 worth of protesters' camping fees to Lifeline given the closure of their bookfair when the conspiracists' EPIC "live in" became more overcrowded and unmanageable.

However at least half that amount should also be offered to the much valued and needed farmers' market which suffered a complete shutdown, despite much planning and adjustment having been made by organisers to try to have it operate safely at what is a peak production time for growers.

Any additional camping fees, and other charges and fines received from local and visiting protesters could be included in this amount.

It would be recognition that many more hardworking community-minded personnel were also impacted badly by the growth of uncontrolled crowds and unacceptable behaviours at this publicly owned facility.

EPIC needs to give priority to safely supporting and servicing the needs of local and regional communities, especially after two years of hard social and economic times for so many.

It is most welcome to see The Canberra Times's headlines and editorials show stronger support for the good common sense of the majority in their attitude towards the "ratbag" anti-mandate and anti-vaccination protesters.

I encourage The Canberra Times to go further in its repudiation of this disruptive assembly.

While most of us strongly support the right to make public our disagreement with some issues we then usually obey the edicts that have been foist upon us by our elected governments.

That is our system, for better or worse.

None of us has the right to disrupt the activities of others because we do not agree with a decision by government.

I would like the authorities to do more to stop the ratbags.

The rule of law has not been respected. That is not the Australian way.

I commend the many "sovereign citizens" who have been our guests in Canberra.

In marching around with their flags and placards, they set a fine example of active citizenship and participatory democracy.

In an era of concerns about selfishness, echo chambers and misinformation, how refreshing it is to see such a vote of confidence in our shared democratic political processes, which are so important for social cohesion.

Now that the imported mishmash of anti-vaxxers, anti-mandate, and anti -government protesters have successfully deprived Lifeline of thousands of dollars of essential funds for their crisis support line they must be feeling very proud of themselves.

Well done you selfish morons.

Maybe its time for the ACT Government to invest in several mobile water cannons to use against protesters when they get out of hand.

It would cool them down if nothing else.

Listening to the uneducated protesters ranting on about their "freedom" to infect anyone they come into contact with it is obvious their education is severely lacking when it comes to both science and public health.

They are lucky they live in a tolerant country.

Elsewhere they might have been met with high powered water cannon with dye, tear gas and rubber bullets and had their tents bulldozed. How come they weren't stopped at the ACT border?

It is very sad the Lifeline Bookfair was cancelled due to these idiots.

Lifeline does a lot of good work. I can't say the same for politicians such as Pauline Hanson.

It's telling that the star of a viral video that ends with a woman driving her car into a stationary vehicle that appears to belong to an anti-COVID-19 restrictions protester excused what she had done, and what she was about to do, with, "the media doesn't care about you".

The media turned a foul-mouthed feral bogan into a hero, and as a possibly-unintended but entirely predictable consequence of that, this not-too-bright self-described "maniac" achieved her 15 minutes of fame.

The past months of the pandemic have had an effect on us, me included. It has made us cautious, distressed and maybe even bitter. It annoys me though, that what has crept into our every day life is that there is condemnation by the media, political parties (especially oppositions of all persuasions - but that's their job I guess), commentators, friends and so on.

I wonder if we could all take a breath, take stock and decide that we should try to be more positive and look on the bright side.

I'm sure most of us are trying to do our best, from the top down, but I'd like to think we could all be more optimistic.

Is it ironic that a bunch of near-illiterates can shut down a charity book sale or just symbolic of the wide damage that protesters against vaccines and other stuff wreak with their neurotic, flailing temper tantrums?

When L Frank Baum wrote his The Wonderful Wizard of Oz he couldn't have known that three of his characters, lacking heart, brain and courage, would morph into one Australian Prime Minister.

Could someone please remind Mrs Jenny Morrison that the Lodge and Kirribilli House are not "her home(s)" per se. She and her family are non-rent paying residents for a set term.

There has been criticism of Grace Tame for failing to smile when she met the Prime Minister recently. Maybe she didn't want to appear a hypocrite.

There is no evidence any attempt was made to muzzle Grace Tame other than her unsworn statement to that effect. Why the guessing games about a "government funded organisation"? Spit it out name so it can be checked.

Don't pray for me, Scott and Jen,

The truth is

We never liked you,

All through the fire days

The COVID pandemic,

You never keep a promise,

Please keep your distance.

The braindead protesters at Epic protested loudly about freedom. Yet they trampled over the freedom of others, stopping them from attending the Lifeline Bookfair. Disgraceful behaviour.

I feel sorry for the lady who missed her oncologist appointment (Letters, February 11) because of the protesters convoy. Just imagine the disruptions when the tram line is being built for the antiquated means of transport that nobody wants.

Australian republicans (Letters, February 9) claims America (a republic) saved Australia in 1942. I voted for a republic in 1999 but it was Japan's decision not to invade that "saved" Australia; a decision made by a monarchy.

There are a lot more important issues than legislation that gives the right to religious bigots to sledge anyone they disapprove of in the name of their religion. It's a measure of the trouble this government is in that it should try to distract and deflect from the big issues with this legislation. Thanks to the ALP, principled Liberals and independents it may now be confined to the dustbin where it belongs.