Midsumma violence condemned

Organisers of Melbourne’s Midsumma Carnival have told party-goers who are looking for trouble to stay away from next year’s event.

Violence at the end of Carnival Day on January 16 marred what was an otherwise successful day, after an all-in brawl — mostly involving women — started on the lawns of Birrarung Marr late in the afternoon.

The incident was captured on a camera phone and surfaced on YouTube last week, including footage of a person being assaulted with what appears to be a plastic pole.

Midsumma Festival general manager Adam Lowe said he was disappointed to see violence had occurred.

“We’re a peaceful community and they’re just letting the team down really,” Lowe told the Star Observer.

It’s understood an argument over footwear sparked the fight involving two groups, and those involved had been drinking alcohol.

Police eventually intervened and separated the combatants.

Midsumma Festival chair Lisa Watts said the festival will conduct its usual post-Carnival Day review in the coming weeks and — although the event had a greater police presence than in previous years — will look at crowd security measures.

“We would certainly discourage any behaviour like that in a community forum,” Watts told the Star Observer.

“No one wants to see that, it’s just ugly.”

It’s understood a similar incident also occurred during last year’s Carnival Day.

Watts said although the scuffle was unwelcome, festival organisers were not concerned about violence becoming a mark of the day.

“I don’t think anyone likes it when people fight, so we have concerns in the sense that it’s always uncomfortable when a small number of people in a very large crowd, most of whom are very well-behaved, do the wrong thing.

“But in the scope of the day, relative to all the fantastic behaviour, no, we don’t have any concerns it’s a systemic or wide-ranging problem.”

Victoria Police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit manager Acting Sergeant Electra Wellens said police are making further inquiries into the incident, including reviewing the footage posted on the web to identify perpetrators.

“People need to remember to be aware of their behaviour at all times, because someone, somewhere is watching,” she said.

“With all the technology and phone capabilities these days, most have cameras and videos, so people really need to be aware of this and curb this sort of behaviour before it escalates.”

Wellens said police did not condone the posting of the incident on the internet.

“I would urge people to report this and pass any information like that to police, because we can use it as a tool to investigate,” she said.

“Footage like this can be valuable and it’s best police see it before it’s posted all over the net.”