Melbourne protests force Australian visa police to abandon plan for random spot checks

AUSTRALIA’s new immigration unit has been compared to East Germany’s secret police after it announced a controversial crackdown on foreigners overstaying their visas.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) was forced to backtrack on plans to check the visas of “any individual we cross paths with” on the streets of Melbourne, a popular destination for British visitors, after angry reactions from the public and politicians.

Hundreds of protesters descended upon the city centre after a press release announcing the plans was pub- lished yesterday morning. “You need to be aware of the conditions of your visa; if you commit visa fraud you should know it’s only a matter of time before you’re caught out,” the statement for “Operation Fortitude” said.

A swift social media backlash saw more than 200 people blocking Melbourne’s main intersection, forcing the border force to cancel a press conference, and then the entire operation.

“Australia is now a police state where citizens could be stopped in the street to have their papers checked,” said Andrew Wilkie, an independent MP.

“Joseph Stalin would be proud of Tony Abbott. Just as East Germany’s Stasi would be delighted with the Aus- tralian Border Force. Are we to presume the enemies of the state will start to be disappeared?”

Later Roman Quaedvlieg, the ABF commissioner, told reporters that the press release was “clumsily worded” and had been “misconstrued”.

He said the operation was police-led and similar operations were run regu- larly. Cameron Durnsford, 34, from Melbourne, said he joined the protest because of his concerns over racial profiling and civil liberties.

“This was dog-whistle politics in its lowest form… I don’t believe there would have been too many British backpackers or white New Zealanders getting pulled up in the streets.”