Demonstrators have taken up positions outside the LAND FORCES 2021 expo at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday morning.

The expo, partly funded by the Queensland government, has 600 participants exhibiting and buying weapons, vehicles and communications, surveillance and training systems.

Shut Down Land Forces Expo spokesman Liam Parry says protesters tried to enter the building but were turned away so they’re now chanting as attendees walk in.

“A lot of them are too embarrassed to look at us, they’re just looking down to the ground as they walk in,” he told AAP.

“Some of them are a bit more oppositional, but I would say most of them are just trying to get inside as quickly as they can.”

Local Greens MP Amy MacMahon joined the protests, saying the Queensland government was spending public money to promote an industry that profits from war.

She also said some conference attendees were lobbying to weaken the state’s gun laws.

“I’ve asked the treasurer to disclose how much public money is going towards this event, but there is a serious lack of transparency,” McMahon said.

“Rather than turning Queensland into the khaki state, we should be creating thousands of jobs providing the services and infrastructure that Queensland actually needs, like jobs in constructing public housing, health, publicly owned clean energy, and manufacturing”.

Parry said several companies were implicated in war crimes, such as Israeli Aerospace Industries, which supplied weapons and fighter jets used in the recent bombing campaigns in Gaza.

He said French firm Thales was also supplying armoured vehicles to the Indonesian army used in the occupation of West Papua.

Parry said that the protesters planned to stay all day and “shame” attendees when they left in the afternoon.

He said they will continue to demonstrate for the full three days of the expo because it was wrong for the state government to “normalise the weapons trade”.

“We’re opposed to some of the largest weapons dealers and war criminals coming to meet in Brisbane to plan how they’re going to sell bombs to armies around the world that are killing civilians and committing war crimes,” Parry said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk praised the LAND FORCES Expo, saying it would help boost the domestic and international profile of Queensland’s defence industry.

“It will also attract around $4 million in tourism dollars for Queensland, meaning more jobs and income for Queenslanders,” Palaszczuk said in a statement.

“I wish all visitors and exhibitors a successful and safe Land Forces 2021.”