One of Australia's top doctors has warned the Victorian government needs to 'take a long hard look' as its 'heavy-handed' response to the Covid pandemic as protests again rocked the city on Sunday.
Dr Nick Coatsworth, the country's former deputy chief medical officer and face of the government's vaccine rollout campaign, said people have a right to protest in a democracy but that he was 'troubled' by the rallies.
'People have a right to that (protest) but Victoria in many ways has become a divided state and some of that is due to the more heavy-handed approaches of government and are people pushing back against that,' Dr Coatsworth told Today on Monday.
One of Australia's top doctors said the Victorian government needs to 'take a long hard look' at their Covid lockdown response after protests continue in Melbourne (pictured: Dan Andrews on Sunday)
Dr Coatsworth said the same frequency and scale of protests being held in Melbourne - which holds the unenviable record of the world's longest lockdown - wasn't being seen in other capital cities.
'You don't see it anywhere else in Australia, and you have to ask why,' Dr Coatsworth said.
'I mean, we are all Australians. Why are Victorians taking the position that they feel the need to protest and I think the government needs to have a long hard look at itself as to why that might be.'
Melbourne has seen anti-lockdown protests of varying sizes almost weekly in recent months - with thousands turning out on Sunday in the CBD to protest proposed new pandemic response laws.
The previous weekend saw a similar turnout in the CBD while on Melbourne Cup day hundreds gathered near the entrance to Flemington racecourse chanting slogans and waving placards.
The controversial Public Health and Wellbeing (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 at the centre of Sunday's protest has already passed the Lower House.
Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth (pictured) said the Victorian government was 'heavy handed' in their Covid response
In October, the protests were centred around Dan Andrews' sweeping vaccine mandates.
All authorised workers were required to get a Covid jab by October 15 with police, teachers and professional athletes needing their second dose by November 26.
Other workers required to get jabbed to stay in a job include cleaners, farmers, retail workers, personal trainers, spa workers.
In September a series of protests were held after an announcement that construction workers were required to be vaccinated to keep their jobs.
The clashes were perhaps the most violent seen with protesters hurling projectiles, scores of arrests and lines of police in riot gear deploying pepper-spray.
Other cities have also endured anti-lockdown protests but not approaching the same level seen in Melbourne.
Even at the height of Sydney's Delta outbreak, protests were infrequent.
Sydney's largest rally in July saw more than 3,000 protesters march through the NSW capital - but more protests hyped for the following weeks did not eventuate.
On Sunday, thousands protested (pictured) in Victoria with many holding signs voicing opposition to Dan Andrews pandemic response laws
The 'selfish' protests may have even helped kick-start the state's stellar vaccine rollout which took off the following month.
Protests have been almost a non-event in Sydney since with the exception of rallies around construction bans in July and August which evaporated after the Berejiklian government quickly relented and allowed construction to continue.
Dr Coatsworth added that an outbreak linked to the Melbourne Cup has already doubled in less than a week, which shows Covid is still around and can 'move quickly'.
Victoria recorded 860 Covid cases on Monday.
He also praised Victorians rolling up their sleeve for the vaccine effort, saying that was crucial to stopping the spread.
'The cases as you have just mentioned have dropped under 1,000 and that's because Victorians got themselves vaccinated.'
'Don't forget the power of vaccinations in decreasing transmission. If you have got a vaccinated person and another vaccinated person, the
