Green Left Weekly Activist Calendar - 20111026-20120120

Forum Organising the 99%: from anti-corporate S11, to anti-war campaigns, to the Occupy movement Thursday, October 27, 6:30pm (meal from 6pm). Resistance Centre, level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). Speakers: Jorge Jorquera (former S11 Alliance spokesperson 2000); Emma Kerin (Occupy Melbourne Union & Community Outreach Group); Margarita Windisch (Act Now to End War (ANSWER) collective); Rachel Evans (Occupy Melbourne activist & Socialist Alliance). For more info ph 9639 8622 or 0413 377 978. Organised by Socialist Alliance. For more info ph 9639 8622.

Occupy Melbourne March & occupation Saturday, October 29, 12 noon. State Library, cnr Swanston & Latrobe Sts, City.Assemble State Library for march to Treasury Gardens for occupation. There will also be a general assembly, venue to be decided depending on outcome of occupation.

Rally for refugees No to offshore processing! No to Pacific solutions! No to mandatory detention! Saturday, November 5, 12 noon. State Library, cnr Swanston & Latrobe Sts, City.Organised by Refugee Action Collective. For more info visit RAC.

Wednesday, October 26

Public meeting: An Indigenous welcome for asylum seekers? How can we think about asylum seekers on indigenous land? Who can welcome? Who can exclude? In this forum we engage in conversations on the current policies toward asylum seekers and the history of treatment of indigenous people in Australia. We ask how these practices and policies speak to questions of sovereignty, ethics and hospitality. Panelists: Tony Birch (University of Melbourne); Ghassan Hage (University of Melbourne); Ray Jackson (president, Indigenous Social Justice Association); Joseph Pugliese (Macquarie University). 6:30pm. Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, Swanston St, University of Melbourne. Registrations close on October 26. For more info contact Juliet Rogers or ph 8344 7945.

Thursday, October 27

Public meeting: The biggest estate on Earth: How Aboriginal people made Australia.Speaker: Bill Gammage (academic historian at the Australian National University). 12:45-1:15pm. Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale Street, City. This is a free event. No bookings required. For more info visit Wheeler Centre.

Rally: Protest against big business controlling Australia's national food plan. Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig will be talking to the Rural Press Club of Victoria on Australia's first National Food Plan. Australia needs a food plan that supports people's health and the ability of farmers to make a living. Instead this is a plan to support Big Food and the processed food industry. Meet the farmers and primary producers who work to keep our seed, food and agricultural land in local hands, growing food for us all. 7-9am. CQ Functions, 113 Queen St, Melbourne, between Bourke and Little Collins Sts. Organised by MADGE and Gene Ethics. For more info on why we want a National Food Plan for people not big business see MADGE.

Forum: Organising the 99%: from anti-corporate S11, to anti-war campaigns, to the Occupy movement. Speakers: Jorge Jorquera (former S11 Alliance spokesperson 2000); Emma Kerin (Occupy Melbourne Union & Community Outreach Group); Margarita Windisch (Act Now to End War (ANSWER) collective); Rachel Evans (Occupy Melbourne activist & Socialist Alliance). 6:30pm. Resistance Centre, level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). For more info ph 9639 8622 or 0413 377 978. Organised by Socialist Alliance. For more info ph 9639 8622.

Friday, October 28

Orlando queer party fundraiser. Orlando is a queer not for profit indie dance party that fundraises for campaigns like the Refugee Action Collective, Melbourne Anti Intervention Collective and Equal Love. 8pm. The Workers Club, Fitzroy. For more info ph Sam 0432 803 360.

Saturday, October 29

Occupy Melbourne. Assemble State Library for march to Treasury Gardens for occupation. 12 noon. Cnr Swanston & Latrobe Sts, City. There will also be a general assembly, venue to be decided depending on outcome of occupation.

Latin fiesta & party. Two great live Latin bands and Peruvian and Colombian dance groups. 7:30pm. Northcote Uniting Church Hall, 251 High St, Northcote. Bookings 0425 539 149 or 0414 970 418.

Sunday, October 30

Protest: Stop discrimination and exclusion in Victorian Mental Health Services. We invite you, your families, carers, friends and colleagues to this protest and memorial to commemorate the deaths of over 1000 people who died while under the protection, care and treatment of the state since 2006. These deaths are described as unexpected, unnatural or violent. Speakers include Robbie Thorpe and others. 2pm. Parliament House, Spring St, City. Organised by Australian Mental Health Human Rights and Law Reform Coalition. For more info visit Light 1000 Candles.

Protest: Save our open space. Picnic in the park. Our open space parks are a treasured place to be with family and friends amidst our busy suburbs and lives. One such park on the Kororoit Creek in Sunshine is under threat. Melbourne Water have asked Brimbank Council to rezone the land along Kororoit Creek from Public Open Space so they can sell it off for housing. Come along for a community picnic to find out more, including how you can help save our park. 2pm. At the park on Kororoit Creek, 113 Fraser St, Sunshine.

Public meeting: Refugees are welcome, racists are not! Ray Jackson, a Wiradjuri man, is a campaigner to stop deaths in custody and president is the Indigenous Social Justice Association in Sydney. Jackson is visiting Melbourne to participate in an Indigenous welcome for asylum seekers at Melbourne University. You are welcome to join him for a less formal discussion about these issues as he mounts the case that 'these racist One Nation clones do not speak in my name!' Ray will speak after a relaxed buffet dinner. 6pm. Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Rd, Brunswick. $15/$10 & $20 solidarity. For more info ph 9388 0062.

Wednesday, November 2

Public meeting: Standing together; connecting strikes. Workers in every country face the same pressures to work longer, produce more, for less. In our increasingly globalised economies, not only do we work in the same industries, but often for the same company. What is the best way to fight together? How do we make our actions more effective? You are invited to attend an AAWL meeting featuring local and international activists to discuss the most effective forms of international solidarity actions. 6pm. Evatt Room, 1st floor, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. Organised by Australia Asia Worker Links.

Friday, November 4

Public lecture: Noam Chomsky: Changing contours of global order. This is a free public lecture and will be Chomsky's only public appearance in Melbourne. Registrations are essential: visit Chomsky. 7.30pm. The Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf. Organised by School of International and Political Studies, Deakin University.

Fundraiser: Wild Things forest fundraiser. The WTFF events are a celebration not a protest, they are a canvass for melbourne artists and lovers of forests to come together as a community and celebrate all the good work forest campaigners do for our forests. Dress up theme 'Wild Things': Think tails and scales, feathers and wings, hooves and horns, whiskers and ears!! 9:30pm. RMH the Venue, 629 Bourke St, City. Presale tickets $22; $25 at the door. Organised by Party For A Purpose, Melbourne New Folk & The Wilderness Society. For more info ph 0405 393 908 or visit Wild Things.

Saturday, November 5

Rally for refugees: No to offshore processing. No to Pacific solutions. No to mandatory detention. 12pm. State Library, cnr Swanston & Latrobe Sts, City. Organised by Refugee Action Collective. For more info visit RAC.

Rally: The 1000 Warrior March Calling all Aboriginal & Islander Men! Come reclaim, respect and protect!! Families, friends and supporters are asked to cheer the Warriors along or meet the Warriors at the end of the march at Birrarung Marr, on the north bank of the Yarra River next to Federation Square. 10am. Assemble at Fig Tree, cnr Gertrude & Nicholson Sts, Fitzroy. For more info ph 0413 045 536 or 0408 486 603.

Monday, November 7

Public meeting: How Spain's Gemasolar plant reaches 24-hour solar power. Santiago Arias is the Technical Director of Torresol Energy which constructed the 19.9MW Gemasolar plant in Seville, Spain. Gemasolar is the world's first plant to apply the salt thermal-storage system in a configuration with a central tower and an array of heliostats. Gemasolar reached 24 hours of uninterrupted production in June 2011. This is the baseload concentrated solar power technology modelled by the Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Stationary Energy Plan to supply 60% of Australia's stationary energy requirements. Arias will join us via Skype. 6:30pm. Fritz Loewe Theatre (entry via level 2), McCoy Building, University of Melbourne, cnr Elgin & Swanston Sts, Carlton. For more info ph 8383 2232 or email Pablo. Entry by gold coin donation.

Tuesday, November 8

Film screening: Afghan women. In 2001 the US announced the liberation of women as a significant reason for invading Afghanistan. Ten years later, have women's lives changed? Join us for the showing of I was worth 50 sheep, the compelling, award-winning documentary film by Swedish filmmaker Nima Sarvestani. Join us for an evening of learning and discussion with the opportunity to be part of creating change for Afghan women and girls. 6:30pm (for 7pm start). 1000 Pound Bend Cinema, 351 Little Lonsdale St, City. $20/$15 & $25 solidarity. Bookings essential: Onnie. All funds raised will go to support women's projects of RAWA & theCooperation Center of Afghanistan.

Wednesday, November 9

Film premiere: Dirt Cheap 30 years on. An updated version of the 1980 film tells the story of how the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu was imposed on the Mirarr people in the late 1970s. The film also provides contemporary insight into the Mirarr's experience with Ranger and Jabiluka. Speakers including representatives from Gundjeihmi and the Environment Centre NT. 6:30pm. State Library Theatrette, cnr Swanston & Latrobe Sts, City (entry from Latrobe St).

Public meeting: Kathy Kelly. Voices in the Wilderness USA. Prospects for Peace in the Middle East. Reflections of a peace activist. Nominated three times for The Nobel Peace Prize. Described as probably the most respected leader in the American peace movement, Kathy has invested her life in search of non-military solutions to end wars, often at great personal cost. Kathy has lived in war zones, sharing the dangers with civilians in Nicaragua, Gaza, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. 6:30 pm. Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston Street, Carlton. $15/$10). For more info ph 0408 299 981 or email Kathy Kelly tour.

Thursday, November 10

Public meeting: Conversations with Kathy Kelly Pace e Bene Australia presents Kathy Kelly, an American peace activist, pacifist and three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee, in conversation along with Afghan youth peace volunteers. 7:30 pm. Collins St Baptist Church, 174 Collins St, City. $15/$10. For more info ph Dale Hess 9592 5247 or email Dale Hess.

Friday, November 11

Film screening: Urban Roots. Ross House presents The Big Picture, films for environmental and social justice. The industrial powerhouse of a lost American era has died, and the skeleton left behind is present-day Detroit. But now, against all odds in the empty lots, in the old factory yards, and in between the sad, sagging blocks of company housing, seeds of change are taking root. A small group of dedicated citizens, allied with environmental and academic groups, have started an urban environmental movement with the potential to transform not just a city after its collapse, but also a country after the end of its industrial age. 6pm. Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, City. For more info ph Sarah 9650 1599 or email Sarah. Entry by donation.

Sunday, November 13

Rally: Join the Backwards March and call on the premier to stop taking Victoria backwards! In just one year Premier Baillieu has taken Victoria decades backwards on the environment: Cattle trampling our national parks; new wind farms blocked; CO2 emissions target ignored; Endangered species habitat logged; new coal-fired power station approved; green wedges threatened; Westernport destruction fast-tracked. Premier Baillieu said he would 'fix the problems, and build the future', but when it comes to our environment his government has created new problems and is threatening out future! 1-2:30pm. Parliament House, Spring St, City. Organised by Victorian National Parks Association, The Wilderness Society, Environment Victoria & Friends of the Earth.

Thursday, November 17

Rally: Protest at BHP Billiton AGM. 10:30am. Melbourne Convention Centre, 2 Clarendon St, South Wharf, City. For more info call Latin America Solidarity Network 0425 539 149.

Friday-Sunday, November 18-20

Festival: Commonground Festival. Commonground Festival is an intimate new community music festival, celebrating the social change movement. Just one hour north of Melbourne on beautiful regenerated bushland of the Commonground Resource Centre. Featuring: The Band Who Knew Too Much; Flap!; The Tiger and Me; The Shivering Timbers; The Stetson Family; April Maze; Beth King; Stephen Pigram; The Grenadines; The Nymphs; Sun Hyland Band. Plus workshops on activism, co-housing, working collaboratively and greenthumb garden action. Visit Commonground Festival to find out more and to purchase tickets. Funds raised support Commonground and their work resourcing the social change movement.

Saturday, November 19

Fundraiser: Wyndham Greens present Rod Quantock in Pardon My Carbon. With our finite planet as the star of the evening, Rod takes his hatchet of humour to Peak Oil, Peak People, Peak Pollution, Politics and Profiteers (and no doubt a few other usual and unusual suspects). Kelly Hall (next to RSL, Melway 205 K8), 5 min walk from Werribee Rail Station. $20/$15 concession for a wonderful, illuminating and hilarious evening. For bookings ph Beck 8742 6752, 0431 252 703 or email Wyndham Greens.

Community Festival: Celebrating our struggles against corporate greed 1pm. Northcote Uniting Church, 251 High St, Northcote. For more info call Latin America Solidarity Network 0425 539 149.

Sunday, November 20

Public meeting: Transgender Day of Remembrance. You are invited to join Ygender in commemoration on the Transgender Day of Remembrance. We ask that you join us to pay respects to the memory of some of our communities most vulnerable citizens in a day of reflection and remembrance. The event will include guest speakers, performance and a space for discussion. We look forward to seeing you there, please RSVP by November 10 for catering and venue capacity. 1pm. Grattan Gardens Community Centre (Community Hall), 40 Grattan St, Prahran. (Please note that car parking spaces are extremely limited.) Organised by Ygender Melbourne.

Rally: Peaceful law reform rally to legalise cannabis. There will be several live music acts performing throughout the day, including Mr DNA and AOI (hip hop) Jahmakn'It'Funky (reggae) & acoustic sets by Jamal Moyle and Armado. Speakers: The Australian Sex Party, Greg Denham (LEAP Australia), Brett Lothian and more to be announced. 1pm. Flagstaff Gardens, between William & King Sts, City (200 metres from Flagstaff Station lawn).

Saturday, December 3

Sydney Rally for marriage equality at ALP Conference. This is a national protest. Equal Love groups from across the country are organising for their supporters to make the trip to Sydney, from Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and more. What better reason to make a trip to Sydney than this! Equality advocates are urged to gather at Hyde Park to march to the Labor Party national conference as they debate their policy on marriage. 12 noon. Hyde Park North at the fountain (Sydney).

Friday, January 20, 2012

Rally: Freedom fighters Tunnerminnerwait & Maulboyheener. Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were amoung five Tasmanian Aborigines who conducted a campaign of resistance to European settlement in 1841 around Western Port and South Gippsland near Melbourne. After three military expeditions they were finally captured and brought back to Melbourne for trial. They were not allowed to give evidence themselves. The two men were found guilty of murder, with the jury saying due to the circumstances mercy should be granted. No mercy was given and Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were the first judicial executions to take place in Melbourne on January 20, 1842 before a crowd of 5000, a quarter of the population of Melbourne at the time. 12pm. RMIT entrance, cnr Bowen & Franklin Sts, City.

Geelong & regional Victoria

Saturday, November 5

Leonards Hill Rally: Hepburn Community Wind Farm Launch Festival Our community began saying 'yes' six years ago when we decided to build our own wind farm, the first in Australia to be owned by a community. Now it is time to officially celebrate community power. We hope you will join us as we open Australia’s first community owned wind farm. This family friendly event will feature local music, food stalls, wind farm tours, information booths and we are privileged to be hearing from David Karoly, one of Australia’s leading climate scientists. 12:30-5:30pm. Hepburn Community Wind Farm, 2040 Ballan-Daylesford Rd, Leonards Hill. $5 on the gate (Hepburn Wind members free). For further details and to register your attendance visit Hepburn Wind.

Campaign committees

Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective (MAIC) meets meets on the first and third Monday of each month, 6.30pm on Level 4 of the rear building at Trades Hall, Lygon & Victoria Sts Carlton. For info, ph 0431 311 520 or visit MAI Collective.

Refugee Action Collective (RAC). For more info ph 0413 377 978 or visit RAC.

Stop HRL: No New Coal Power For Victoria meetings. Join the community campaign against HRL's proposed new coal-fired power station. For more info visit Stop HRL or call 0402 337 077.

Victorian Climate Action Calendar for a comprehensive list of climate action events in our state. The VCAC covers events in Victoria and major events elsewhere and is intended to inform, educate and inspire. To subscribe or to add an event to the calendar email Monique Decortis. Weekly updates are e-mailed out and online updates are available at VCAC.