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Arrests made as police move in on rough sleepers' Flinders Street camp

Five people were arrested as tensions boiled over when dozens of special operations police moved on the Flinders Street Station homeless encampment on Wednesday.

A line of red-vested special operations police surrounded a small group of protesters and rough sleepers about 1pm.

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Five arrested amid clashes at Flinders Street camp

Clashes erupt between protestors and dozens of special operations police as they crack down on rough sleepers encamped outside Flinders Street Station.

At 1.50pm a man on a mobility scooter and a woman who had been stationed at the camp were arrested in front of a large crowd of people yelling "let them go" and "f--k the police".

Three others were also arrested. Seventy-five officers were involved in the operation, including the public order response team. 

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Afterwards a man began pulling down barricades set up in order to begin the repainting of the station's northern facade as tensions at the scene continued to escalate.

A large crowd of onlookers had also gathered, filming the scuffles on their mobile phones.

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The protest attracted hundreds of onlookers spilling across Flinders Street to watch the arrests and confrontations with protesters.

Lisa Peterson, who was among the people supporting the homeless, said the action of protesters who were not homeless had made the situation a lot worse.

"I think there were only half a dozen homeless people here, yet it's become a circus. The community didn't need a circus," she said.

"I'm very concerned about the impact this is going to have."

By about 3pm, with verbal confrontations still breaking about between members of the public and police, Flinders Street – which had been been closed to traffic and trams – was reopened.

Barricades were erected along the northern side of the station and street sweepers were cleaning the area previously occupied by rough sleepers.

At a police media conference on Wednesday afternoon, Stuart Bateson, Acting Commander for North-West Metro, said most of the rough sleepers complied with police requests to move on on Wednesday morning.

Mr Bateson said the large crowd of protesters became violent as police dismantled the camp.

One police officer was punched in the back of the head by a female protester, he said, while two others sustained minor injuries.

Police made five arrests, four of them protesters. Commander Bateson said one person repeatedly rammed their personal mobility scooter into police 

One person was arrested for assaulting a police officer, another for throwing something at an officer, one for public drunkenness, and two for resisting the police.

Commander Bateson said police expected to lay charges in all cases.

"Police moved in to facilitate work in Flinders Street station," Commander Bateson said.

"For this work to be carried out safely we needed to clear all obstructions on the pathway about Flinders Street.

"We tried to negotiate with those that remained, but ultimately when we moved in we were met with resistance from a small group of protesters.

"As a result, three of our members were injured, and we have made five arrests."

Commander Bateson acknowledged Wednesday's actions were no solution to homelessness, and were designed only to facilitate a safe workplace for renovations at Flinders St Station.

He said police first spoke to the rough sleepers at 10.30am, telling them they would have to go, "and most of them left but unfortunately for us we had protesters come in behind the homeless".

"Make no mistake, we have not solved the homeless issue we do not under any circumstances think we have solved the homeless issue and yes we will probably see them somewhere else in the city," he said. 

Commander Bateson said the police were familiar with many of the protesters.

"We see these people regularly," he said.

"They are our regular starters at any far-left protest. these are the people we see on the lines regularly, these are the people that we see assaulting our members, yelling at our members, spitting on our members."

Before police moved in a number of the homeless people who had been sleeping in front of the station decided to pack up and leave on Wednesday afternoon, following escalating tensions at the site and an intense media presence.

The rough sleepers have been offered temporary accommodation at a motel in Coburg.

The resistance to police is being led by a handful of protesters, not themselves believed to be homeless, yelling slogans such as "homes not jails" and "homelessness is not a crime".

At about 1pm, police began telling journalists that the rough sleepers and protesters would be given 10 minutes to move away or they would be arrested for obstructing the footpath.

They also said journalists would be arrested if they did not move from the footpath.

Half an hour later, silence descended as trams were halted along Flinders Street and workers began unloading yellow barricades from a truck. 

There were chaotic scenes at the makeshift camp on Wednesday, as media and many members of the public crowded around the small group of protesters standing in front of about a dozen rough sleepers.

Some of the protesters became agitated, arguing about tactics, while the homeless people themselves mostly remained seated and quiet. 

Some yelled "shame" at a female television journalist. 

At about 12.45pm a spokeswoman from the Homeless Persons Union said police would "move in" within 20 minutes and that people had been offered a few days accommodation at the Coburg Motor Inn.

A Victoria Police spokesman said police formally approached those experiencing homelessness at about 12.30pm and asked them to relocate.

He said police were also monitoring the protest.

Earlier, at 11.30am, two dozen police arrived at the camp, followed by a large contingent of council workers wearing fluoro vests.

However they did not appear to approach the group of rough sleepers or their supporters, instead waiting a short distance away.

A small number of protesters yelled out slogans such as "homelessness is not a crime" and "shame Doyle shame" and "Melbourne city is for all".

A man who yelled at the group telling them to leave was taken away by police.

Housing Minister Martin Foley said 15 people from the camp had already been "successfully housed" while four others had been placed in drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation facilities.

"Work has already began to provide a pathway for rough sleepers out of the CBD."

"Since Friday the government has supported agencies to assist those at Flinders Street access housing and services," he said.

Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said scaffolding works had been "planned for months" as part of the station's $100 million upgrade.

"The project team has worked closely with Melbourne City Council and other agencies to keep those affected informed," she said.

The last remaining rough sleepers at the Flinders Street Station camp have been urged to accept a "pathway" out of homelessness or face eviction.

Coburg Motor Inn

The Coburg Motor Inn does not enjoy a good reputation on hotel recommendation websites.

Many travellers report they could not even stay the night.

On TripAdvisor, one reviewer notes he is shocked there could be worse motels in Victoria.

"If there had been a chalk outline on the floor or crime scene tape I would not have been surprised."

Another notes he "could not stay there at all would not house my dog there".

On Wotif.com one reviewer notes "There was chickens living in the carpark area! Actual live chickens!".

Another, perhaps ironically, notes as a pro: "Had somewhere to sleep not on the street".

On Expedia it is rated 1 out of 5.

More to come.

With Nick Toscano and Benjamin Preiss

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