Within hours of the Australian Border Force 鈥 Prime Minister Tony Abbott's paramilitary amalgamation of the Customs Service and immigration department 鈥 announcing on August 28 that they would be joining the Victorian police and privatised public transport operators in Operation Fortitude to check the visa status of 鈥渁nti-social鈥 elements on the streets of Melbourne, hundreds of protesters had gathered at Flinders Street Station and social media had exploded in outrage.