Australia isn't so good at urban pacification. I find both the Thai and the Hong Kong Police much more civilised and advanced.
If someone wants to take-over a weapons selling expo day in the city of Melbourne, well you draw back all your police, and you let the protestors take the building. Because Australian Police should not hurt Australian people. The Prime Directive. Don't hurt your own people. They are very upset about something. Let them make their point. This is real democracy. Australian police should not be in the business of hurting Australian people.
What are the protestors going to do after taking over the expo place anyway? Then you surround the expo, turn off the electricity, TV, water and internet, and just wait. No contact. Play scary music late at night. Psychological operations. You isolate them without touching or hurting them.
The protestors, They've got to go home one day. They have jobs and universities and big mortgages, etc to go back to, & they have nice families to return to. They won't like being there for very long, especially without being able to leave, & especially without good coffee, and with no wifi.
When they do beg to go home after a day a week or a few weeks, you just pick off the defined leaders on the way out, and give the rest free bus rides home. Thus you've identified and incarcerated the leading characters and been kind to everyone else.
Australia, like America, is very bizarrely primitive, and amazingly violent, in terms of urban pacification. They are equally so destructively pride-full. We both have much to learn from Asia. Asia deals with these social issues in a much more effective way, and with much less harm done. Otherwise it's all just about government pride and police pride and prestige...yuck. That doesn't work if people are really upset with the government...and the police. That doesn't do anyone any good, ever. Relax and relent, and after awhile they and you, and all of us, we, can all go home to our lovely families. Rather than amassing police to cause harm and trouble, you just stand back. It's intelligent. In essence, what are they going to do? Hurt someone's feelings?
