Kangaroo Point’s One Fish Two Fish has had irregular weekend tradings amid the protest rallies on Main Street. Owners Daniel and Amelia Miletic said that these rallies are affecting their sales when they also had to adjust their operations after 12 weeks of strict COVID-19 lockdown.
The Miletic couple said that whilst they understand the plight of asylum seekers, the activists’ rallies have not resolved anything since it started a few months ago. Instead, activists fighting against the “imprisonment” of asylum seekers in the CBD are blocking roads and causing anguish among residents and businesses.
One Fish Two Fish has had to close shop when there’s an on-going mass action for the safety of their diners and workers. The restaurant has only been in business since February 2019.
“One Fish Two Fish was built to provide a spot for feeding the family during the week and drinking like a fish on the weekend,” the restaurant said in a statement. “We pride ourselves on joyful interactions with fresh food & good booze and hospitality that makes you feel that you’ve entered our Queenslander home.”
“We don’t feel that whilst the protests – which have escalated week on week – are taking place on Main Street that we can provide our customers with an enjoyable experience and our staff with a safe workplace.”
Mr and Mrs Miletic are seeking compensation for their losses and emailed Greens councillor Jonathan Sri, who has been organising the protests. The restauranteurs asked Sri to communicate with them on the planned mass gatherings so that they could better address customers’ bookings and their trading hours ahead of time.
But the Gabba councillor suggested that they should “go after council or the police” for their grievances, confusing Mrs Miletic since he is part of the council. Mr Sri also posted a video following a rally on 19 July to imply that the police have chosen to keep Main St blocked despite the end of their protest.
Meanwhile, Mr Sri and his group were supposed to hold another rally around Story Bridge last 8 Aug 2020 but this was postponed to next weekend due to fears of potential violent action from the police. Later that night, the councillor posted that he was arrested and taken to court the next day.
“The police were seeking orders that I refrain from attending any protests on or around the Story Bridge and that I refrain from encouraging others to attend the protests,” Sri wrote. “The police have my landline number, mobile number and email address, and yet I hadn’t had any contact from them about this particular peaceful assembly until they woke me up at 1:00 a.m. last night.”
“The short notice of the hearing means that I didn’t have time to seek legal representation or even to review the court documents served on me, and it seems like a deliberate attempt to drag me in front of a judge without a lawyer. Given that today’s peaceful assembly had already been postponed, the police had no reason to take me to court this morning other than to tarnish my reputation and waste my time.”