Pro-Australian and anti-Australian groups took over Melbourne's CBD this weekend, and as always, I went to hear from both sides. Before the far-left counter-protesters arrived, though, I wanted to know what had brought so many proud Australians out of bed on a beautiful Sunday morning. Their answers painted a picture of a city its own residents barely recognise.

The first thing that struck me was the flags. Many people told me they were not used to seeing so many Australian flags in the city, and several admitted they had kept theirs hidden on the way in. One woman, dressed head to toe in Australian flag attire, said she had walked in alone and was "quite scared", relieved only that "nothing happened". Another attendee kept their flag covered because "you just don't know who the hell's around". A third, watching Australian flags disappear from the streets, said it was "just so sad, because I mean we built this country". When I asked one man how it felt to be hiding the flag in Melbourne in 2026, he didn't hesitate: "It's atrocious, mate."

The reasons people had turned up were remarkably consistent. Many spoke about what they described as "out of control numbers" of immigration, making clear that their concern was with the numbers, not migrants themselves. Others came to stand against a government they called corrupt, or simply because "we need grown-ups to take control". One rally-goer said the indoctrination of children, with puberty blockers and surgery on the table, "shouldn't be happening". Another described walking strip after strip of shops and seeing "business after business closed", declaring that "the Australian dream does not exist anymore" and that Victorians deserve "more in the bank account".

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One Nation was clearly riding the mood. One supporter promised, "We're coming in numbers." Another admitted being "more of a lefty two or three years ago" but now hoped One Nation would get in, because "Pauline's making sense".

There was real optimism too. One Nation candidate Mark Nicholson declared that "spring has sprung" and that the socialist left's "stranglehold over this city is over". He promised to clean up the graffiti and "dilapidation" so "people can be proud of this place again".

The counter-protesters, meanwhile, were waving Palestinian flags and calling the rally racist, so I put that accusation to the crowd. A South American migrant who has lived here for more than 30 years thanked Australia for "putting the food on the table for me and my family". A man whose family fled radical Islam in the 1970s said he didn't want it here. A man originally from Hong Kong told me the Hong Kong government had put a bounty on him. His warning to complacent Australians was chilling: "Careful, just careful, because I'm the evidence."

A teenager of Chinese heritage was equally clear when I asked whether he thought the protest was racist: "I promise you it's not." Asked whether there was hope for his generation, the 16-year-old gave an answer half of Parliament can't manage: "If you're a man you're a man, if you're a woman you're a woman."

The rally was peaceful, safe and full of proud Australians. It was a pleasure to spend the morning with them. But not everyone in the CBD on Sunday was nearly as friendly. In my next report, you'll meet the counter-rally mob and see exactly why I need so much security just to do my job.

Covering these events means walking into crowds that would happily see me hurt. The only reason I can keep showing up, week after week, is the team that stands between me and them. That protection doesn't come cheap, and it certainly doesn't come from the government or the mainstream media, who would rather I stopped turning up altogether. It comes from you.

If you want me back on the streets holding these people to account, and coming home in one piece, please chip in at ProtectAvi.com. Every dollar keeps the cameras rolling and keeps me safe while I tell the stories they don't want told.