Truck drivers blocked a major highway to protest against Covid-19 lockdowns and mandatory vaccinations.
The demonstration was held on the M1 in Reedy Creek, south of Brisbane, by furious truckies who promised to bring the major highway to a standstill.
Traffic was backed up for several kilometres after the protest began at 6am on Monday, having been announced just an hour earlier to thwart police.
The truckies broke the blockage at 7am after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson – who was supporting the rally – told them it was time to move on.
Tony Fulton, a popular Australian truck driver who has legions of fans on his Tones Truckin Stories social media page, said he was prepared to be arrested to stand up for ‘Australian rights’.
‘We want to end these lockdowns – we don’t want forced vaccinations and we want to open up the country and learn to live with the virus,’ he told 7News while standing in front of the blockade.
He earlier posted a video vowing to take part in the protest and telling his followers he’s ‘more scared’ of the life-saving vaccine than the virus – which has so far claimed the lives of 4.5 million people across the globe.
‘I’m someone that does a bit of research,’ Mr Fulton claimed.
‘From what I’ve seen from my research with credible scientists and doctors and stuff, I do not want to get this vaccine.
‘I am more scared of the vaccine than the virus. Honestly it scares the living hell out of me.’
Fears about the vaccine have been noticeably absent among those who have issued heartfelt pleas from their hospital beds after being struck down by Covid while unvaccinated.
Of the 126 people with the virus in intensive care in hospitals across NSW, only one is fully vaccinated.
Another truckie Brock stood defiantly in front of the roadblock despite police officers threatening to tow their trucks if they were not moved.
‘If you do want to get the vax get it – if you don’t want it, don’t get it – but don’t keep locking up people,’ he said.
‘End all lockdowns and let people go back to work and kids go back to school. That’s what we want out of this.’
Mr Fulton said in a Facebook video moments after the rally ended that he and the other protesters tried to gather again in another location but their convoy was separated by police and told to return to NSW.
‘We were going to chuck a U-turn to head back in police actually separated us and told us to leave the state – so we’re going to respect those wishes,’ he said.
But he claimed even those drivers who had their daily commute delayed by the blockade were sounding their horns in support of the demonstration.
‘Even the cars who got caught up in our efforts, once we moved on and they started overtaking us we had so many beeps and thumbs up of support,’ he said.
‘So even though it was a minor inconvenience for them [they knew] it was all for the greater good.’
Tensions flared within the trucking industry over some jurisdictions ordering vaccination requirements for authorised workers who cross state borders.
A growing number of drivers declared they’re in it for the long haul and will continue the fight even if Monday and Tuesday’s demonstrations fail.
‘I don’t believe that businesses or states and governments should be allowed to force this on you,’ Mr Fulton said of the vaccine.
‘Customers contacted the transport company I work for to say if drivers are not vaccinated they will not be allowed on site.
‘So it actually doesn’t come down to whether you need to be vaccinated to get over the border, it’s actually to load.
‘I will not be getting that vaccine and unfortunately the way that transport works I don’t know what I’m going to do.’
Organisers said as well as Ms Hanson, her One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts would also take part in the protest. They did indeed show up.
A separate day of action is planned for Tuesday with a GoFundMe page set up to financially support truckies when they strike by ‘blocking every highway entering into every state at the same time’ on August 31.
Outraged Australians blasted the ‘selfish’ plot which could leave millions of families in Covid lockdowns across the country without vital goods.
‘How long before the good people of Australia turn against truck drivers for starving their families? Stupid anarchy and terrorism – domestic terrorism,’ one tweeted.
‘How incredibly f**king selfish. Have the disadvantaged, elderly and our farmers not suffered enough over the past few years?’ another wrote.
‘Now a bunch of truck drivers want to strike and cause even more suffering to those who can’t stock up on everything they need.’
‘Causing panic buying and food shortages because some bloke is upset by the government? How is that going to help?’ a third added.
‘So the truck driver protest supposedly happening this week is against lockdowns and vaccinations, by and industry that kept their jobs, grown in the last 18 months, and are essential workers who are exempt from lockdown?’ a fourth wrote.
Meanwhile, other truck drivers from around the world praised the planned strike, with some sharing advice on how to carry out the protest smoothly.
In a video posted on Twitter, an America teamster suggested those participating in the rally remove tools from the vehicles to prevent them from being towed.
‘Hey to all my Australian truck drivers, this is just a quick tip,’ he said.
‘If you do want to leave your truck somewhere and you don’t want a wrecker driver to be able to remove it, make sure you go to your air chambers and take the caging bolts home with you.
‘Because there is no way the wrecker drivers that the government calls are going to have thousands of these, and with no supply line on the air chamber – no one is moving that f**king truck.’
From August 30, authorised workers from NSW Covid hotspots cannot leave their LGA for work unless they have received one dose of the vaccine or have a medical certificate.
Similar rules apply for freight workers entering Queensland, while other strict Covid restrictions, such as mandatory testing, govern entry requirements to other states.
Overseas drivers were not the only ones backing the protest, with dozens of anti-lockdown supporters championing truck driver’s cause online.
Some wished them good luck, while others applauded their devotion to ‘freedom’ and rebellion against ‘tyranny’ and Covid vaccines.
But some Australian truck drivers who are against the coordinated demonstration pleaded with their colleagues to reconsider.
One man begged them to consider whether it was ‘hypocritical or heroic’ to protest against lockdowns by pushing their agenda to avoid vaccination.
‘I believe everybody has a choice and I understand your argument but denying your fellow Australians of their right to choose and to work and to eat defeats your whole argument…are you heroes or hypocrites?’ he said.
News of the rally broke on Monday after an Australian truck driver posted a video online warning truck drivers were ‘planning to shut down the country’ to ‘remove the s**t government’.
He said supply chains would soon be interrupted and urged Australians to stock up on groceries to get them through the next couple of weeks.
‘It’s on. The truckies are doing it. The truckies are going to shut down the country,’ the man said in the video.
‘What that means is you need to go shopping now, get what you can for the next week or two, load your fridge, freezers.
‘The truckies are coming and they are going to pull this country down and we are all going to do it together and remove this s**t government.’
The man did not reveal how many truck drivers were involved in the demonstration and the Australian Trucking Association declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
A GoFundMe campaign set up on Monday to raise money for striking truck drivers raised $10,000 of its $200,000 goal before it was deleted. Other similar fundraisers for the same cause have since emerged on the site.
NSW Police said the force was aware of the planned protest and ‘will continue to ensure compliance with the public health orders’.
Victoria Police confirmed they are also aware of the demonstrations and ‘will respond to ensure community safety and compliance of the CHO directions’.
Meanwhile, food and fuel supplies could be affected over the weekend as thousands of truck drivers pull the handbrake in a separate protest over pay conditions with a major employer.
The Transport Union said the dispute over a new enterprise agreement with logistics giant Toll Group will climax with a 24 hour strike on Friday involving as many as 7,000 truckies.
In a bid to compete with global giants like Amazon Flex, the Transport Workers’ Union said Toll was aiming to drive down costs ‘by scrapping overtime entitlements and engaging outside drivers’.
But Toll claimed it had the best EBA in the industry and would continue to do so once negotiations concluded
‘One thing we and the union do agree on, our employees deserve a pay rise,’ it said in a statement.
‘We’ve put a generous offer on the table and are committed to further discussion.’
Much like Uber, Amazon Flex describes it’s model as ‘you use your own vehicle to deliver packages… as a way of earning extra money’.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine had a much less rosy way of describing Amazon’s model, and Toll’s alleged moves to copy it.
‘It is an abomination that billionaire retailers like Amazon are smashing profit records while ripping off transport supply chains and crushing the jobs of the truck drivers who’ve risked the health of their families to deliver parcels and keep shelves stocked,’ he said.
‘Toll workers have been forced to take the last resort option to go on strike this week because their jobs are being smashed.’
In response, Toll said it was ‘disappointed the TWU is threatening industrial action in the middle of a global pandemic’.
‘As one of the country’s biggest transport companies, we are well used to managing disruptions to our operations, from bushfires to floods to a global pandemic,’ Alan Beacham, Global Express division president said.
‘We can assure customers their goods will be transported during any potential industrial action.’
The company said industrial activity risks disrupting medical supplies, but the union said it’s strike action ‘has never and will never disrupt medical supplies or vaccines’.
*story by The DailyMail.com
