MORE police than petition presenters turned out to the office of Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson as thousands of signatures were delivered yesterday.

The petition called on the Minister to dump his plans to build a radioactive waste facility at Muckaty.

Organised by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), the signatures were collected at Minister Ferguson’s Batman electorate in Melbourne.

ACF nuclear free campaigner Dave Sweeney, two local mothers and four children under five years old went to deliver the petition.

They were greeted by Victorian police, including members of the security intelligence group, and Australian Federal Police.

Staff members locked themselves inside the office in case the toddlers attacked them.

Mr Sweeney said the situation was ridiculous.

“We simply wanted to present the petition to Minister Ferguson’s office and we advised them in advance,” he said.

“The response from his office was an absolute overreaction.

“Staff refused to open the door until a police sergeant knocked on the door repeatedly, urging them to accept the petition.”

The ACF’s Dump the Dump campaign, which was funded by public donations, include a billboard in Minister Ferguson’s electorate prior to the Federal Election.

Mr Sweeney said it had a marked effect on the election results.

“Minister Ferguson bled heavily to the Greens who picked up a lot of ground in Batman,” he said.