Published on Newswire, September 12 2000

The headlines had led me to expect violence, screaming, wrecked vehicles, a massive police presence and the imminent threat of a giant battering ram in the shape of a joint being wielded with malicious intent. But this was not what I found when I braved a cold, grey Melbourne afternoon to visit the site of the World Economic Forum's AP get-together at Crown Casino, which was being blockaded by an assortment of protesters under the loose banner of S11.org.

There were some visible changes to the city, of course. Even Flinders Street Station, some blocks away from Crown, had been covered with anticorporate graffiti. "John Howard is un-Australian", read one recent entry, mocking the PM's earlier condemnation of the protest.

More striking was the blocking of all the roads leading to the casino site. I'm used to this part of Melbourne being permanently lined with slow-moving cars; the effect of their absence is a peaceful one. Several pedestrians seem to feel the same way. "I wish the walk was this easy every day," one comments as I move along Queensbridge.

From here, you can first see the tents, housing a variety of groups associated with S11, from the Greens to the Socialist Workers Party. There are school-associate movements here, and even a bunch of Falun Gong monks. The effect is inescapably like being in a University quadrangle during O Week, and somewhat less threatening. Passers-by walk through unmolested, which is more than you can normally manage when accosted with leaflets in a city railway station.

It's also where I find the first evidence of Bill Gates, the reason I'm visiting Melbourne in the first place. I've been trailing Gates around Australia, but his two public appearances in the city have been cancelled following police concerns over a possible riot. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I feel compelled to check out the protest site for myself, to see the situation too threatening for the man apparently unconcerned by all the might of the US legislature.

Gates' face is prominent on many of the anticorporatisation stickers, alongside the PM and treasurer Peter Costello. There's no suggestion, though, that he's been singled out for special condemnation, or even a bonus pie in the face. Anyone associated with the WEF is tarred with the same brush; corporate villains are considered collectively.

While the ideological fair continues to the left, on the right lies Crown itself, lights still ablaze but barriers set all around. There's a scattering of protesters, but nothing like the thousands promised for today. The rain is heavier now. Most of the crowd is gathered around a bus emblazoned with www.peacebus.com (.org mania is not universal, it seems). Interestingly, although the street is free of traffic, people are still crossing at the lights. Truly a law-abiding demonstration.

Turning right and up towards Kingsway, you first become really aware of the police, strategically dotted behind the barricades, guarding the coaches which bought WEF delegates in this morning. They don't look vicious and ready to strike; just bored and slightly damp.

The greatest concentration of people can be found at Crown's delivery entrance opposite Kingsway, where a wall of police is lined up. Tribal drums play; media crews swarm, some wearing familiar corporate logos, others in Byron Bay T-shirts. The latter are unlikely to be filming for this evening's TV news bulletin.

This is not what I'd normally expect to find in this part of Melbourne. A fortnight ago, I walked through these streets on my way to IT+Interact 2000, and felt considerably more menaced by the oncoming waves of traffic than I do now by the assortment of protesters with brightly coloured hair, ragged clothing and the occasional baby. It's actually hard to imagine this group of people causing a serious threat to the world's largest software company.

Of course, I can hardly blame Gates for cancelling his visit. With no real message to deliver anyway, why risk leaving the lasting impression of violence? However, I'd also find it hard to be as dismissive as Gates has been of the message the protesters bring. "Fundamentally world trade, if you block it, the big losers will be the poor people of the world and I'm not sure if the positive (aspects) get articulated as clearly as they should be," Gates is reported to have told the WEF. He's passed on his chance to articulate them, at any rate.

I walk back the way I came, following the Yarra back to Flinders Street Station. Just as I enter the station, a low-flying helicopter passes overhead. But I'd have to shut my eyes to imagine that I'm a few hundred feet from an alleged war zone.