According to The Age, "Police pushed protesters down the stairs, used their batons on those who refused to follow orders and repelled the crowd with capsicum spray, while activists harassed mining delegates, spat on them and dragged them to the ground".

The police reportedly "used capsicum spray at least four times" and 17 protesters were arrested, one for climbing up the building to put up a banner "charged with conduct endangering life".

[15] A day after the blockade completed, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that the government would implement laws against "environmental groups targeting businesses or firms involved in the mining sector".

[16] The following day, a police officer was criticised for having "alt-right material" on their personal social media page after performing an OK gesture at the blockade, "a symbol frequently used by members of the far right".

[21] On December 6, 2019, Melbourne Activist Legal Support compiled and published a 45-page report on its observations of the protest, saying "legal observers witnessed, recorded and documented multiple incidents of excessive, unnecessary and potentially unlawful uses of force, either as a coordinated crowd control tactic or by individual police members using excessive force within a police maneuver or tactic.