A “Hands Off Syria” Rally calling for no foreign intervention in the Syrian conflict was held in Brisbane today (13 Oct 2013). About 50 people marched through the CBD on the way to Parliament House where speeches were made.
Photos below, and more photos here.
Bill Shorten. Photo by Peter Cambell
Bill Shorten has won the position as Labor Party leader with 63.95% of the caucus vote and 40.08 of the member vote. Shorten has called this a win for democracy and has proclaimed the process a success. Well he may. With 74% Labor member turnout, a high voting rate, still the caucus has managed to protect itself from the will of the membership.
If the membership is allowed to vote, indicating that they are to be trusted with choosing an appropriate leader, why does a caucus member’s vote count for more than a rank and file member? Granted the system is better than that which existed before, for which we have Rudd to thank. For whatever other failures he is guilty of, Rudd clearly saw the need to reinvent the democratic processes of the party. But are the changes enough? Since the leadership campaign was announced 4500 people have said they want to join the Labor Party. How many of those will change their minds now, disillusioned by the failure of the new democratic processes to secure a member approved leader?
Shorten claims the process has “made the ALP more transparent and open”. This is hard to accept when you look at Shorten’s track history of manipulations from the sidelines. Now that he is leader, can we be sure that he will suddenly be transparent? From outside appearances, and to many of the disaffected Labor voters, the old guard right faction is still very much entrenched.
In fairness to Shorten, his choice of Tanya Plibersek is likely to have assisted his campaign. While Albanese indicated he would support Shorten for Deputy if he won, Shorten indicated he would choose Plibersek as Deputy, which would have gained him some traction from the left and from affirmative action advocates. Indeed many hoped to see Plibersek herself vie for leadership, including former Prime Minister and leader Julia Gillard who described her as one of the nation’s most gifted communicators.
It is now up to the caucus (and not the membership) to ensure Plibersek is elected Deputy.
In the year 1982, Aboriginal groups fed up with the lack of land rights and the continual disenfranchisement of Indigenous people saw the coming Commonwealth Games as an opportunity to bring attention to their plight on the world stage, and to hopefully shame the government into bringing about change.
Thousands of protesters converged on Musgrave Park and set up camp in a grassroots movement intent on making the voice of protest heard.
The Queensland Bjelke-Peterson government of the day responded by making all street marches illegal. A state of emergency was declared. Apart from two approved marches, no other protests were to be tolerated. Nevertheless protests were organised, and over the period of the games close to 500 protesters were arrested at several illegal marches.
The protests put land rights, and other injustices that Aboriginal people have been (and continue to be) subjected to, into the international media and informed debate and protest actions for years after. The protesters at these marches embodied the spirit of all the great protest movements of history. Not long after the Games, the various Aboriginal Protection Acts (which served to discriminate against and exploit Aboriginal people) in QLD were finally abandoned, and changes to Land Rights were enacted. The Hawke government, in light of the Commonwealth Games protests, and in an effort to avoid escalating protests, introduced some changes to Indigenous policy such as changes to the hated Department of Aboriginal Affairs (which became ATSIC, with Indigenous representation) and the establishment of a Reconciliation Commission, both moves which were largely cosmetic or tokenistic and enacted without due consultation, but nevertheless showed the seriousness with which the government was taking Aboriginal activism.
In commemoration of these events, starting in 2012 the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy has been holding Anniversary celebrations in October of every year. The event includes Rallies, Music, Movies and other entertainment and activities.
The event is particularly poignant in light of the recent activities by Brisbane City Council and the QPS to suppress the Sovereign Embassy. See here for photos of the Embassy eviction involving over 200 police in May 2012.
Below are some photos of the 31st Commonwealth Games Protest Anniversary that was held this weekend (11-13 October 2013). Photos by Embassy photographer Brendon Qu.
(more photos can be seen on the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy facebook page.)
31st Anniversary Commonwealth Games Protests. Photo by Brendon Qu, Embassy photographer
Singer Teila Watson. 31st Anniversary Commonwealth Games Protests. Photo by Brendon Qu, Embassy photographer
Forum discussion group. 31st Anniversary Commonwealth Games Protests. Photo by Brendon Qu, Embassy photographer
Singer Andrew Paine. 31st Anniversary Commonwealth Games Protests. Photo by Brendon Qu, Embassy photographer
Singer Phil Monsour. 31st Anniversary Commonwealth Games Protests. Photo by Brendon Qu, Embassy photographer
2 Black! 31st Anniversary Commonwealth Games Protests. Photo by Brendon Qu, Embassy photographer
The March Against Monsanto international initiative hit Brisbane CBD Today (Saturday 12). An energetic group of about 150 people took to the streets to protest GMO’s produced by Monsanto.
The group’s stance is that Monsanto GMO’s are untested and present potential health dangers. Other issues such as Monsanto’s lobbying against labelling legislation and efforts to have governments implement Monsanto protection acts which limit Monsanto’s exposure to action by individual or class action are also on the group’s hit list.
More information about the group can be obtained here: http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/
Pictures of the Brisbane march can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pitdroidtech/sets/72157636465225514/
