Protests have continued for the third day in the Australian city of Melbourne after the Victorian state government shut down the construction industry for two weeks on Tuesday. The state government cited COVID-19 compliance issues in the construction industry and violent demonstration scenes outside the offices of the CFMEU construction union, which occurred on Monday for the shutdown. Following protests on Tuesday that wound throughout Melbourne, on Wednesday, protesters marched from the Melbourne CBD to the city’s Shrine of Remembrance, a sacred war memorial. Hundreds of protesters took up places on the steps of the Shrine while a massive swarm of police kept their distance, seemingly reluctant to encourage any ugly scenes at one of the country’s most sacrosanct locations. By mid-afternoon, the riot police began to converse and negotiate with members of the protest to offer a way for protesters to leave without being arrested. Initially, Victoria police offered …