Anti-immigration protesters clash with Invasion Day marchers in Melbourne
We’re hearing from reporters on the ground that protesters from the March for Australia rally have caught up to the Invasion Day march.
A number of apparent participants in the March for Australia have met the front of the Invasion Day rally, which has just turned down Bourke Street.
Indigenous affairs reporter Douglas Smith, who is reporting from the crowd of the Invasion Day rally, says two people were quickly moved on by police but more have appeared, and are continuing to appear. Douglas says there are clashes between both groups.
The Invasion Day rally follows the same route every year: starting at Parliament House steps then marching down Bourke and Swanston streets to end outside Flinders Street station.
The March for Australia started at Flinders Street at 12pm and marched up Swanston Street, turning into Latrobe Street toward parliament. They were blocked by mounted police officers but have since turned down Lonsdale Street. Our reporter following that rally says riot police are now moving in.
Key events
Douglas Smith
The Invasion Day march in Melbourne has stopped at Flinders Street Station, where it appears the March for Australia Rally had left.
A wall of police are standing nearby. The organisers have pulled the crowd into a circle at the intersection.
Thousands of protesters are still yet trickling along Swanston St and are yet to join the head of the march.
As the protesters gather, a man has yelled out, “Happy Australia Day”. Invasion Day protesters told him to leave.
Jordyn Beazley
Sydney march reaches Yabun festival
The thousands of people that joined Sydney’s Invasion Day protest have now reached Victoria park, where the Yabun festival is being held.
The festival, held every year on 26 January, celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Placards seen at Sydney March for Australia in support of neo-Nazi group member
Ariel Bogle
At the March for Australia in Sydney, multiple signs have been spotted calling for a member of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network, which leaders claim has been disbanded, to be freed.
At the head of the rally as it moved down Cleveland Street in Surry Hills, placards that read “Free Joel Davis” – at least one with a photo of his face – mingled with Australian flags and a sign that read “Albo’s a traitor”.
Joel Davis, 30, was charged in late 2025 over an alleged threatening message targeting the independent federal MP Allegra Spender.
He was taken into custody in Bondi on 20 November by Australian federal police and refused bail.
At the time, without identifying Davis, the AFP said the message allegedly encouraged people to direct “abusive and hateful messages” at the politician after she condemned a protest by the NSN on 8 November outside the NSW parliament. Davis was also present at the event.
Hundreds at March for Australia in Melbourne
About 500 people are at the March for Australia event in Melbourne, reporter Catie McLeod says.
There is a large police presence at areas where the rallies might have clashed according to their planned routes, but not, it seems, along the routes themselves.
Douglas Smith is at the Invasion Day march and says the front of the rally – which is thousands of people strong – has stopped at Swanston Street, ready to turn towards Flinders Street station. He’s spoken to Meriki Onus, the organiser of the Invasion Day rally, who said police had so far done a good job in keeping the rally safe and keeping other protesters away.
Jordyn Beazley
Hecklers and Invasion Day marchers scuffle in Sydney
There was a brief scuffle at the Invasion Day march in Sydney as protesters walked past Central Station.
About four or five people with Australian flags heckled protesters as they walked by.
A handful of people then broke away from the march to chase after them. The police followed.
Anti-immigration protesters clash with Invasion Day marchers in Melbourne
We’re hearing from reporters on the ground that protesters from the March for Australia rally have caught up to the Invasion Day march.
A number of apparent participants in the March for Australia have met the front of the Invasion Day rally, which has just turned down Bourke Street.
Indigenous affairs reporter Douglas Smith, who is reporting from the crowd of the Invasion Day rally, says two people were quickly moved on by police but more have appeared, and are continuing to appear. Douglas says there are clashes between both groups.
The Invasion Day rally follows the same route every year: starting at Parliament House steps then marching down Bourke and Swanston streets to end outside Flinders Street station.
The March for Australia started at Flinders Street at 12pm and marched up Swanston Street, turning into Latrobe Street toward parliament. They were blocked by mounted police officers but have since turned down Lonsdale Street. Our reporter following that rally says riot police are now moving in.
Douglas Smith
Melbourne Invasion Day march begins
Invasion Day protesters have left state parliament and are marching down Bourke Street towards Swanston Street.
Thousands chanting “always was, always will be, Aboriginal land”, and “no pride in genocide”, are walking together as passersby watch on.
Victoria police are on alert, with a nearby March for Australia protest held being held at Flinders Street station.
Andrew Messenger
Greens leader speaks at Brisbane Invasion Day rally
The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, held a brief press conference earlier at the Invasion Day rally in Brisbane.
Flanked by fellow Queensland Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne she slammed the federal government for inaction on First Nations issues.
“It’s about time nationally that we had some real moves on truth telling and on treaties and on justice. And unfortunately, we see a government that’s pretty gutless after bungling the voice referendum,” she said.
They seem to have dropped First Nations justice issues.
Waters was also asked about the Australia Marches rally – led by Pauline Hanson – which was due to start nearby.
I think those folk who are at the alternative rally, they’re very angry, and they feel like life’s hard for them. That’s right, life’s hard for everyone, but the way we fix that is not by pointing the finger at other Australians. It’s by pointing the finger at the system that is causing that inequality.
Jordyn Beazley
Counter-protester escorted by police from Sydney Invasion Day march
At the Invasion Day protest in Sydney, a man wearing an Australian flag has been escorted away by police after he walked across the front of the protest.
The protest is now walking along George Street, not far from its destination at Victoria Park.
Earlier in the protest, organisers stopped momentarily to raise their middle finger to a statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park.
Douglas Smith
Lovett’s speech included an open letter addressed to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, which called for a national truth-telling commission:
Commitment to truth, justice and healing cannot be limited to one day of the year, it must be carried through with action.
(We’re) calling for a national truth-telling process to be established, under the umbrella of ‘Walk for Truth’.
Truth-telling demands change, and you cannot build unity off denial. You cannot ask First Peoples to celebrate the beginning of their dispossession.
Flyers were handed out with a QR code allowing protesters to sign a petition, supporting the cause.
Douglas Smith
Calls for national truth-telling commission at Melbourne rally
The former Yoorrook Justice deputy commissioner Travis Lovett called for truth telling at a national level in Australia, saying past and present injustices towards First Nations people was now in the open and undeniable.
Lovett, a proud Kerrupmara and Gunditjmara man, was one of four commissioners who oversaw the unprecedented truth-telling commission in Victoria, which was established in mid-2021, with a final report tabled in July 2025.
The final report found past and ongoing injustices experienced by First Nations people, including persistent systemic racism, and made 100 recommendations to address them. Lovett said in Melbourne:
We are here because truth matters, we are here because listening matters, we are here because this country cannot heal unless it faces its history honestly.
And it is laid bare, through more than 10,000 government documents, institutional documents that we were able to examine in my time as deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
The truth is no longer hidden, the truth is no longer deniable, and I’ll say it again, the time for not knowing is over.
Donna Lu
‘An inspiration to many’: Australian of the Year celebrated for Stem contributions
The 2026 Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, has been feted for her contributions by science and technology organisations.
Bennell-Pegg, the director of space technology at the Australian Space Agency, made history in 2024 as both the first female Australian astronaut and the first person trained as an astronaut under the Australian flag. She has not yet gone to space.
Dr Cathy Foley, the president of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering – which Bennell-Pegg joined as a fellow in 2025 – described her as “an extraordinary leader and an inspiration to many young Australians”, adding:
She is living her childhood dream – to become an astronaut – a dream which comes from a desire for adventure and a curiosity and love of science.
Prof Mark Scott, the vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney, of which Bennell-Pegg is an alumna, said:
She has not only made outstanding contributions to the visibility and advancement of Australia’s space sector but has been a tireless advocate for gender equity in science and engineering, including in space-related fields.
Ryan Winn, the chief executive of Science & Technology Australia, said Bennell-Pegg “shows what’s possible when pursuing a career in Stem”.
Andrew Messenger
Brisbane Invasion Day rally speaker calls for royal commission
A speaker at the Brisbane Invasion Day rally has called for a Bondi-like royal commission into racism against Indigenous people.
Dale Ruska said Bondi was a horrific event, but there had been hundreds before. He said racism was “not a priority” and was “normal for us”.
“Our struggle has involved generational existence of our ancestors in a racist colonial system, and this country, while it refuses to address all of the harm caused for this country’s original first law and First Nations people, they are continuing to fail, and they are continuing to remain complicit,” he said.
He continued:
Australia is an historical crime scene. It is an historical crime scene, and it is worth the same sort of effort that the people that suffered Bondi are given.
Jordyn Beazley
Sydney Invasion Day march under way
Sydney’s Invasion Day protest has begun with chants of “always will be, always was, Aboriginal land”.
There have also been chants by rally organisers calling out the One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson.
‘Sovereignty never ceded’: speeches start at Melbourne Invasion Day protest
Douglas Smith
Thousands have gathered outside Victoria’s Parliament House for the Invasion Day protest, with calls to officially mark 26 January as a Day of Mourning.
Arrernte woman Celeste Liddle read out a statement on behalf of the Warriors for Aboriginal Resistance, and spoke of the decades-long importance of Invasion Day protests.
“We walk in the footsteps of those Aboriginal activists, who, 88 years ago to this day, walked through Sydney on what was the first Day of Mourning protest,” she said.
We are here because many decades down the track, most of their demands in their revolution on that day, which included full equality, recognition of our cultural rights and the end to the brutalisation of our people, remain unanswered.
Speeches continue with calls to change the date, and 26 January to be officially classed as a Day of Mourning by governments, state, federal and territory.
Bushfire warning issued in Victoria
To Victoria, where a watch and act bushfire warning has been issued due to a fire at Carlisle River and Gellibrand that is not yet under control.
With extreme weather forecast for Tuesday, the fire is predicted to rapidly expand and pose a threat to nearby areas.
Residents are being strongly recommended to prepare to evacuate before sunset today.
VicEmergency warned a short time ago:
“If you are located in Barongarook, Barongarook West, Beech Forest, Carlisle River, Coram, Elliminyt, Gellibrand, Gerangamete, Irrewillipe, Irrewillipe East, Kawarren, Larpent, Lovat, Tulloh, Wimba, Yeo, act now to protect your life … LEAVE NOW.”
Manly beach closed
Manly beach has again been closed because of a shark sighting.
“SLSNSW advise Shark observed at Manly Beach, MANLY By Surf Life Saver at 11:24 am, 26 Jan 2026. Water Evacuated. Beach Closed”, a post on X advised a short time ago.
The beach was closed because of a separate shark sighting this morning and reopened a short time later.
Canberrans mark Invasion Day with smoke ceremony
Sarah Collard
In Canberra, the nation’s capital, Invasion Day has been marked with hundreds of First Nations people, community, allies who are gathering at Garema Place in the centre of Canberra.
The only sounds heard are the sounds of magpies warbling as smoke rises from the centre of the square.
Despite the high temperatures, families, elders and community are clustered around available shady trees for a smoking ceremony and a minute’s silence to mark the Sorry Business and grief that community have experienced over the past year.
For Shara Fowley who has brought her daughter and nieces, the Dharawal and Kamilaroi woman says the day has mixed emotions for many and believes it needs to be changed. “It’s always the same conversations,” she said:
We all live and breathe the same thing. We all do it on the same country.
It just needs to be abolished and we can move on with our lives, because it’s the same argument for multiple years.
It feels like it’s not going anywhere, it’s getting worse.
