Police fight a man on the ground as protesters gather in St Kilda, Melbourne

Crowds have gathered in the last hour in St Kilda with a heavy police presence and helicopters have reportedly been in the area.

The protest, which was set to start at noon, comes after officers made 200 arrests on Friday and imposed more than $ 1 million in fines.

Police flooded St Kilda this morning in anticipation of protesters with a line of officers seen at Luna Park where crowds are said to have planned to block roads and traffic.

A large group of people have been seen walking near the St Kilda foreshore and police are in force to issue fines to people who have no good reason to leave their homes.

The encrypted Telegram messaging service has been used by rally organizers to plan meeting locations, although false reports have already been published to hijack police resources.

This week, large crowds marched through Melbourne and gathered in front of the Shrine of Remembrance, the Steps of Parliament and the CFMEU building.

Event organizers who oppose the vaccination mandate and the two-week closure of the Victorian building center have vowed to rally “every day” until their demands are met.

Angry crowds chanted “everyday” and “F *** Dan Andrews” on Tuesday as they walked the CBD and clashed with police before spilling out onto the West Gate Freeway.

A list of demands was released ahead of Tuesday’s protest calling for an end to lockdowns, vaccine warrants and the mask warrant.

List of requests

1. State of emergency powers must be removed immediately
2. Blockages end immediately
3. Mask mandate to be completed immediately
4. Vaccination mandates end immediately
5. Vaccination passport to collect
6. Immediate resignation of Prime Minister Daniel Andrews
7. Immediate resignation of Chief Medical Officer of Health Brett Sutton
8. Immediate resignation of Chief Police Commissioner Shane Patton
9. Royal Commission on the Government’s Response to the Pandemic
10. Charges against officers for “assaulting peaceful demonstrators”
11. All sites to be resumed immediately.

The protest comes as Victoria looks set to miss her first roadmap target, which was set to trigger a slight easing of restrictions on Sunday if the state hits the 80% jab target.

As of Saturday morning, 76.3 percent of the state’s population had received their first dose, while 46.57 percent had received a double dose.

Tensions have boiled over in the seventh week of Melbourne’s sixth lockdown since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in March of last year.

If the city reopens on October 26 when the 70% vaccine target is expected to be met, that will mean Melbourne has been stranded for a total of 267 days.