A protest in Melbourne against the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities has caused peak-hour mayhem.
The Swan Street bridge over the Yarra River, in the busy sports precinct which includes the MCG, was closed to traffic after up to 500 people converged on the bridge.
They formed a circle and held a smoking ceremony before eventually moving off, headed towards the CBD.
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Traffic was redirected down Alexandra Avenue. Most roads in the area are extremely congested.
There were queues along the river back into South Melbourne, traffic is slow on Hoddle Street and some lanes of Punt Road remained closed due to an earlier gas leak.
It is the third time the group has brought parts of the Melbourne CBD to a standstill.
The protests were sparked by the Abbott Government’s support for Western Australia’s proposal to close nearly half of that state’s 247 remote communities.
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