Federal Defence Minister Peter Dutton has slammed the ‘selfish’ choice of thousands to march against lockdowns in Sydney last Saturday.

Authorities are warning of harsher penalties for similar acts as word of follow-up protests this weekend swells.

“There’s a lot of selfish action out there,” he told Ray Hadley.

“It’s an element of society that’s there, they crave attention and they’re reading a lot of crazy stuff online at the moment.

“Unfortunately they act the way they do and punching police horses and assaulting police officers, et cetera, is just not normal behaviour.”

Mr Dutton voiced his support for NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who he believed has “done the very best she can in very difficult circumstances”.

“In the end, decisions are made that are in the population’s best interest.”

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview