Clashes Erupt As Anti-Lockdown Protests Grip Australia (Video)

Anti-lockdown protesters marched in Australia's two largest cities on Saturday, with several arrested in Sydney following violent clashes with police.

Thousands of angry people marched through the Sydney central business district while throwing pot plants and bottles, as opponents of Sydney's month-long stay-at-home orders took to the streets.

In Melbourne, local media said thousands of protesters had thronged the streets after gathering outside the state parliament in the early afternoon.

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Police in Sydney said they had launched a "high-visibility policing operation" in response to the protest.

"So far during the operation, a number of people have been arrested," the force said.

Organisers had dubbed the protest a "freedom" rally and publicised it on social media pages frequently used to spread vaccine disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Attendees carried signs and banners reading "Wake up Australia" and "Drain the Swamp" -- echoing messages seen in similar demonstrations overseas. Helicopters buzzed the streets above Sydney.

The city of five million people is struggling to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant, as Covid cases spiked to record numbers. Thus, authorities warned of a "continuing and growing problem", but people demanded an end to the city’s lockdown, which is entering its fifth week.

Notably, the state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, reported 163 new cases Saturday for a total of nearly 2,000 infections in the current outbreak.

There is growing anger at the restrictions and the conservative government's failure to provide adequate vaccine supplies. Just 11 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

Stephen Jones, a member of the national parliament from Sydney, condemned the protesters as "selfish, reckless idiots". "Nobody wants to be in lockdown. This is exactly how you keep it going," Jones asserted.

Police said they supported "free speech and peaceful assembly, however, today's protest is in breach of the current COVID-19 Public Health Orders".