Police deploy pepper spray but fears of brawls between activists fail to materialise on Australia’s day of protests

One group of marchers complained about vaccines while Indigenous and pro-Palestinian groups took to streets against racism

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Fears of violent scenes at rallies across Australian capital cities on Saturday failed to materialise as just a fraction of those predicted to attend protests and counter-protests showed up.

Police in Victoria had been preparing for potential violence, fearing a repeat of the scenes in Melbourne in August, when violent brawls broke out between anti-immigration protesters and anti-fascism groups.