Anti-vaxxer protesters have again faced off with police in tense scenes on the streets of Melbourne - as their bizarre 12-point manifesto emerged calling for Daniel Andrews' resignation and the mass distribution of an unproven Covid cure.
Hundreds of protesters have started to gather outside CFMEU's union head office on Tuesday, only a day after the building was badly damaged in violent demonstrations on Monday.
Demonstrators chanted 'f**k the jab' and sung Advance Australia Fair as riot officers advanced towards them in the city's CBD.
Protesters are also using encrypted platform Telegram to call for the 'mass distribution' of an unproven Covid cure and Daniel Andrews' resignation.
Hundreds of protesters have started to gather outside CFMEU'S union head office on Tuesday
Three of the demands called for Victoria's leading figureheads in its pandemic response to stand down - Premier Daniel Andrews, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton and Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton.
CFMEU boss John Setka earlier blasted 'fake tradies' and 'man-baby Nazis' who sparked Monday's violent scenes outside union headquarters - prompting Daniel Andrews to shut down the entire industry for two weeks.
Hundreds of workers in hi-vis vests gathered outside the union's head office in Melbourne on Monday to protest against mandatory Covid-19 vaccine requirements, which come into effect for the construction industry later this week.
The protest turned violent as demonstrators clashed with Mr Setka and other union officials, hurling abuse and projectiles and smashing glass windows.
Mr Setka is furious 300,000 construction staff state-wide have lost work because of the actions of 'fake tradies' at the protest, describing them as 'scum of the earth, drunken and un-Australian morons'.
It comes as Victoria recorded 603 new cases on Tuesday, the highest daily tally in the current outbreak and since August 2020, bringing the number of active cases to 6,000.
A protest turned violent outside CFMEU headquarters in Melbourne, prompting the state government to shut down the entire industry
'There were a few of anti-vaxxer activists there who are not union members or are from our industry, they're the ones you see at all the protests,' Mr Setka told the Today show on Tuesday.
'It just got out of control. Then they were consuming a whole heap of alcohol. Thanks to these morons, 300,000 Victorians are sitting at home for at least the next couple of weeks, could drag out even longer.'
Mr Setka described how he went out to address the hostile crowd but was eventually forced to retreat back inside as protestors turned on him.
'We went out there to see what it was all about,' he said.
'There was a sprinkling of construction workers there of our members and the rest were just people, I wouldn't even know who they are.
'You couldn't even talk. We tried to keep it all calm, and it just got out of chrome. People started throwing bottles. Some of them were fighting amongst themselves.
'You know, once they started throwing the bottles, that was it we just said this is too dangerous, let's move back in. It just got out of control from there.'
CFMEU boss John Setka (pictured) slammed the actions of fake tradies and neo Nazis
Mr Setka said he was blindsided by the state government's snap decision to shut down the construction industry statewide.
'It wasn't like there was full-on consultation us with,' he said.
'I have never spoken to Daniel Andrews to be honest. I have never met him and never spoken to him. I've had no discussions with Daniel Andrews ever.'
He doesn't believe the shutdown was payback for recent criticism of the state government's public health orders and agreed it had no other choice but to shut down the industry.
'I don't think they had much of an alternative but to do what they've done,' Mr Setka said.
'It's unfortunate, because families rely on a pay packet every week, and the problem with it is, I think it's going to go longer than two weeks.
'They can thank all the drunk morons yesterday. This lays squarely on their shoulders.'
Mr Setka fears the construction industry will be shut down for longer than two weeks as a result of Monday's ugly scenes outside CFMEU headquarters
Ex-unionist and federal MP Bill Shorten also slammed the 'fake tradies' and 'man-baby Nazis' earlier in the program.
'Some of those people in the crowd were construction workers, but others, I'm reliably informed, were fake tradies,' he said.
'They'd been down to the Reject Shop and got themselves a $2 hi-viz hoodie so they could pretend they were construction.'
On Monday night, the state government shut down the industry for two weeks in metropolitan Melbourne, City of Ballarat, City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast Shire and Mitchell Shire.
All worksites will need to demonstrate compliance with health directions prior to reopening.
This includes a requirement for workers to show evidence of having had at least one dose of a vaccine before they return to work on October 5.
Many of those who attended Monday's protest have been described as 'fake tradies' and 'man-baby Nazis'
