Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said protesters, in particular politicians who joined the marches against racism, were taking to the streets for their “Instagram moments”.
Appearing on Sky News, he slammed federal members of parliament who took part, saying they should be “leading from the front” when it comes to health advice on COVID-19 about mass gatherings.
“Those politicians should take a good, long, hard look at themselves,” he said. “They did it for their Instagram moments, their Twitter moments. But it’s so irresponsible.”
Over the weekend, several protests for the Black Lives Matter movement took place across major capital cities, attracting thousands of people to take part.
According to McCormack, the protests have potentially delayed the nation’s reopening.
“They placed at risk all the good work that so many Australians, themselves included, had done for so many weeks,” he said.
“Let’s hope over the next fortnight when many of them may well come down with flu-like symptoms, let’s hope it’s not COVID-19.”
