Thousands of people have joined protests in cities around Australia today, with Invasion Day rallies and counter March for Australia demonstrations taking place.
January 26, the day Governor Arthur Phillip ran up the British flag at Sydney Cove, is officially Australia Day, but many mark the date as Invasion Day, recognising the dispossession of Indigenous Australians.
Protests were organised in every Australian capital today, with NSW Police announcing recently they had tweaked the extended protest ban in place after the Bondi Beach attack in order to allow activists to march in certain areas of Sydney.
Warning: This article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died.
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Device thrown at Perth crowd
In Perth, Invasion Day rally crowds were sent fleeing after an apparent explosives device was thrown towards a stage where speeches were about to take place.
A 31-year-old man was taken into police custody.
Police Commissioner Col Blanch said officers worked with organisers to immediately evacuate 2000 people amid fears of a potential mass-casualty event.
He said the "very rudimentary device" was about the size of a medium coffee cup.
"The device that was located just in front of the stage area contained ball bearings, contained screws and those items were wrapped around an unknown-at-this-stage liquid in a glass container," he said.
Forensic tests are expected to reveal tomorrow whether the device contained explosives.
"This is a very, very serious incident," Blanch said.
"This is un-Australian and the exact opposite of what we all wanted today to be."
Man arrested over alleged neo-Nazi speech in Sydney
A man has been arrested over alleged neo-Nazi comments he made during an open-mic session during Sydney's March for Australia protest at Moore Park.
The 31-year-old was stopped on nearby Bourke Street in Surry Hills after his comments and taken into custody.
He was charged with "publicly incite hatred on ground of race causing fear".
Operation Australia Day Commander Brett McFadden alleged the man engaged in hate speech aligned with neo-Nazi ideology.
"We arrested a 31-year-old male who engaged in what we will allege is a hate speech during an open mic session at Moore Park," he told reporters.
"We will allege that the language he used, his presence, was clearly and unequivocally aligned with neo-Nazi ideology and his presence and language incited a response from the crowd, generating hate towards a particular group in our community."
NSW Premier Chris Minns said police were on high alert for any protesters who violate federal legislation during the marches in Sydney.
"There will be no tolerance for violence or hate speech on Sydney streets," he said.
"We live in a beautiful multicultural community with people from around the world, but we will not tolerate a situation where, on Australia's national day, it's been pulled down by divisive language, hate speech or racism."
Minns said he has not ruled out introducing stricter legislation, saying people have a right to enjoy the city.
"I do believe we have to confront this idea that the centre of Sydney can be dominated weekend after weekend after weekend by the same protest," he said.
"People have got a right to protest, but other Australians have a right to enjoy the city.
"My responsibility is to keep the people of NSW safe, and to balance those rights."
Two others were arrested under Operation Australia Day.
A 17-year-old man was arrested in Bondi for allegedly assaulting police and is being questioned by police.
A 28-year-old was charged with domestic violence offences at Victoria Park, which were unrelated to the protests.
McFadden said despite the few incidents, the overwhelming majority of the crowds were respectful.
About 18,000 people turned up for the Invasion Day rally in Sydney, while 2000 attended the March for Australia rally.
The Invasion Day protest kicked off with a heavy police presence in Hyde Park about 10am.
The rally began with a moving tribute to Sophie Quinn, an Indigenous woman who was allegedly shot dead by her former partner in Lake Cargelligo in NSW last week.
Quinn's aunt Neruda and her friend John Harris were also killed in the shooting.
Protesters at today's rally are holding signs that read "Stop killing us" and "sovereignty never ceded".
Members of the Palestine Action Group also showed their support at the rally.
Later, the March for Australia anti-immigration rally kicked off at Cleveland Street to Moore Park.
Tensions flared between opposing groups.
In one instance, residents were involved in an "exchange of views" with March for Australia protesters.
McFadden said police intervened and de-escalated the situation before anything could happen.
Another protester was seen carrying a sign that called to "free Joel Davis", the neo-Nazi leader who is accused of allegedly urging followers to "rhetorically rape" Wentworth MP Allegra Spender.
A brief scuffle broke out between Invasion Day demonstrators and a group of men with Australian flags, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Police officers intervened again before the rally continued towards Broadway.
Invasion Day protest dwarfs March for Australia in Melbourne
About 19,000 people descended on Melbourne's CBD in opposing protests being held on the steps of Victorian Parliament and outside the Flinders Street train station.
A smoking ceremony took place outside parliament to mark the beginning of the Invasion Day protest, which attracted 17,000 marchers.
Meanwhile, 2000 March for Australia protesters waved the national flag as they walked through the CBD.
Aerial vision from the 9News helicopter showed thousands of people part of the Invasion Day rally, while there was a visibly smaller turnout for the opposing March for Australia rally outside Flinders Street station.
Some demonstrators could be heard chanting "always was, always will be, Aboriginal land".
9News captured footage of a confrontation between opposing protesters near the steps of parliament, which led to one woman being knocked to the ground.
Police were on the ground monitoring the situation.
There was "minimal conflict" between the two groups, according to police, although a handful of incidents were reported.
One man was sprayed in the face "by an unknown substance" on the corner of Swanston and Bourke streets by someone wearing an Australian flag as a cape, police said.
Another man, who police believe was part of the March for Australia group, was assaulted at a licensed premises on Bourke Street.
The offenders fled and the victim did not want to make a statement.
Separately, a male and female were racially abused by four while they were packing up their car near the intersection of Westwood Place and Little Collins Street, police said.
The attackers chased the victims' car and smashed the back window with what police believe was a stolen broken boom gate.
Police allege one of the men performed a Nazi salute during the attack. The offenders fled the scene.
All of the matters are being investigated by police.
Captain Cook statue under guard
A security guard kept an eye on a Captain Cook memorial statue in St Kilda after the monument was toppled by vandals on Australia Day two years ago.
Port Phillip Council hired a guard to protect the statue from potential defacement today.
The sculpture was sawn off at the ankles and painted with the words "the colony will fall" in 2024.
In 2022, red paint was also thrown across the statue over three consecutive days.
Pauline Hanson speaks to crowd in Brisbane
One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson made an appearance at an Australia Day march in Brisbane's Botanic Gardens in the CBD.
The Hoodoo Gurus anthem What's My Scene? played as she was welcomed to the stage.
She decried "mass migration" in Australia during her speech and said Anthony Albanese was the "worst prime minister I have ever known".
March for Australia protesters in Canberra
Meanwhile, in Canberra, an opposing March for Australia protest took place outside Parliament House.
The Australian Federal Police was out in full force as protesters waved Australian flags and marched towards Lennox Gardens in Yarralumla.
An Invasion Day protest also began at 10am in Canberra and is expected to finish at Old Parliament House.
Police warned the protests could cause traffic disruptions in the capital today.
'Zero tolerance' for hate speech, violence
NSW Premier Chris Minns said police were on high alert for any protesters who violate federal legislation during the marches in Sydney.
"There will be no tolerance for violence or hate speech on Sydney streets," he said.
"We live in a beautiful multicultural community with people from around the world, but we will not tolerate a situation where, on Australia's national day, it's been pulled down by divisive language, hate speech or racism."
Minns said he was confident protesters would respect exclusion zones and that police had been liaising with organisers for weeks to ensure today goes ahead without incident.
When asked about his plans to tighten protest laws further in NSW, the premier said he had not ruled out introducing stricter legislation.
Minns said he has not ruled out introducing stricter legislation, saying people have a right to enjoy the city.
"I do believe we have to confront this idea that the centre of Sydney can be dominated weekend after weekend after weekend by the same protest," he said.
"People have got a right to protest, but other Australians have a right to enjoy the city.
"My responsibility is to keep the people of NSW safe, and to balance those rights."
He said the state government would also look at changing the scope of hate slogan laws in the wake of federal laws, which were passed in parliament last week.
Support for Australia Day rising
Recent polls, including from Resolve and Roy Morgan, indicate that support for keeping Australia Day on January 26 is rising.
Roy Morgan found that 72 per cent of respondents agreed Australia Day should retain its current name and date, compared to 28 per cent who disagreed.
"This is the highest support for Australia Day recorded by Roy Morgan," chief executive Michele Levine said.
"There is majority support for Australia Day retaining its name and date across all age groups, genders, and all states."
However, there remains a political divide, with most Labor and Greens voters saying the date should be changed, while Liberal, National, and One Nation voters hugely supported it.