The 2024 International Land Defence Expo kicks off at the Convention Centre this Wednesday, touting itself as the “largest defence industry event ever held in Australia!”.

Twenty-five thousand protesters are expected to descend on the event, with organisers promising “a mass blockade to disrupt and shut down the opening breakfast of the land forces conference. We will not allow this despicable weapons conference [to] happen as normal”.

But they’ll be met by the largest police operation since the World Economic Forum in 2000, who have also now granted special powers under the Terrorism Act to request ID and search vehicles in designated areas.

So, with tensions growing, are we on the verge of a week of violent protests?

Nathalie Farah is with Disrupt Land Forces, the group behind the protests, and when asked what she wants out of this, she told The Project, “We want our government to take action.”

“We want it to be uncomfortable for the delegates that are coming from the different weapons companies… to make these million dollar contracts.”

“We’re entering the eleventh month of the latest iteration of the genocide against the people of Palestine in Gaza. We’ve been protesting every week, in our thousands, we’re turning up on the streets of Melbourne, demanding that Australia stops its complicity in the genocide that is occurring.”

When pressed on how Australia is complicit, Farah said: “Australia still doesn’t recognise the state of Palestine, and this whole propaganda of the Labour government saying that they don’t export weapons to Israel is not true because we know, and we have evidence that is publicly available, that Australia manufactures significant parts to these weapons that are then exported to the US and UK so that these weapons can be assembled.”

In the next few days, Farah says they have “actions that are going to be happening outside multiple weapon manufacturers” as well as “vigils”, with the aim to “simply make it clear to those attending land forces expo that they are not welcome here.”

She also reiterated that Disrupt Land Force is “really clear that we’re coming peacefully.”

“We’re communicating with Victoria police,” she says.

“The police are not our enemy here.”