Showing posts with label Occupy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Occupy. Show all posts

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Green Left Weekly Activist Calendar 2012-04-25

Wednesday, April 25
Rally: Ceremony for the fallen and forgotten Koorie freedom fighters. 10am. Domain, St Kilda Road, City.
Thursday, April 26
Friends of the Earth: The Big Ask gig. Friends of the Earth Melbourne is calling our community to support our vital work. We need your support and financial help to continue campaigning on the big issues in 2012 and beyond. FoE Melbourne does not receive corporate funding and this means we rely on the support of our members, donors and volunteers to fund our campaigns and keep our organisation running. Bands:Tehachapi; Strangers From Now On; Mouth Tooth; Emily Shobbrook; & Slam Poet, Kirsti Whalen. Speakers:Cam Walker, Friends of the Earth Campaign Coordinator; Tully McIntyre, ACE Anti Nuclear Clean Energy Campaigner; Shaun Murray, Quit Coal Collective; Jonathan La Nauze, Murray Darling Campaigner; Louise Sales, Nanotechnology Campaigner. 7:30pm. Phoenix Public House, 133 Sydney Rd, City. Tickets: $15/$12; $10 presale. For more info & bookings visit FoE.
Public meeting: Indigenous footballers & the AFL. Tony Birch, writer and university lecturer on Indigenous footballers & the AFL will look at the issues surrounding the participation of Indigenous Australians in football, and the way that Indigenous footballers are portrayed in the day-to-day reporting of the AFL. This discussion will analyse the various incidents of the last few weeks. 6pm. Jika Jika Community Centre, cnr Union & Plant Sts, Northcote (near Westgarth Station). A Footy Almanac Seminar. To confirm your interest please email Tony Birch.
Friday, April 27
Rally: International workers memorial day: Remember the dead, fight for the living. Support the global union campaign for safer, healthier, better work. In addition to the international theme, Australian unions are focussing on industrial deaths caused by exposure to toxic substances, most notably asbestos. 10:30am. 'Remembrance Rock’, cnr Victoria & Lygon Sts, Carlton South. For more info ph 9659 3511. Ross House tenant Industrial Deaths Support and Advocacy will be hosting morning tea following the event in the Trades Hall Meeting Room 1.
Rally: Phoney2012. Defend a citizen journalist assaulted and arrested for filming activism at Federation square. Ring their numbers, complain and ask for a public apology, restitution and a change of policy when dealing with citizen media. 12 noon. Federation Square, cnr Swanston & Flinders Sts, City. There will also be a petition to send to the minister responsible for Fed Square you can sign on site. Video of the 'arrest' atPhoney2012.
Rally: Occupy Friday. Every Friday Occupy Melbourne is reclaiming City Square for the people so we can rebuild our spirit of community, show people we're still here, still keen and that we can change the world. Join us for peaceful public assembly and political discussion. 12 noonm-10pm. City Square, cnr Collins & Swanston Sts, City. For more info visit Occupy Melbourne.
Friday, April 27-Sunday, April 29
Sydney Conference: 2012 Climate Action Summit. A great way to meet people, build skills and get involved in campaigns to bring about a shift in the climate debate. Hundreds of activists from all over the country will come together in what will prove to be a not to be missed event. We are still confirming speakers and workshops. We invite climate groups and activists to submit workshops for the conference. University of Western Sydney. Program and details at Climate Summit.
Saturday, April 28
Rally: Mantle Mining's going away party. Mantle Mining has been in Bacchus Marsh for some time now, with the aim of opening up a huge open cut coal mine and coal drying plant there. Mantle's exploratory drilling program is coming to an end and we want to make sure they get a nice big send off to say 'Goodbye and hope you don't come back!' 10am. Eddie O'Toole Reserve, Main St, Bacchus Marsh. Speakers: Don Nardella (MP); Kate Tubbs (Moorabool Environment Group); Katheryne Smyrk (Quit Coal). For more info visit Quit Coal.
Rally: Malaysia's BERSIH 3.0 Melbourne solidarity gathering. Join us as we gather in solidarity with Malaysians worldwide in sending a strong message to the Malaysian government, because the authority of the government can only come from the will of the people as expressed in genuine, free and fair elections. The three demands of Bersih 3.0 are: (1) The Election Commission (EC) must resign; (2) The electoral process must be cleaned up before the next general election; and (3) International observers should be allowed to monitor the polls. 2pm. Federation Square.
Fundraiser: Lizard rising. The Lizard is rising up through our industrial wasteland to warn us about the potential apocalyptic endeavours of BHP in the sacred sands of northern SA. BHP plans to expand Olympic Dam mine to be the biggest uranium mine in the world. To raise some funds to mobilise the Desert Liberation Front into action at the gates of the mine on July 14. Come enjoy an evening of performance and music including: Rapskallion; Combat Wombat; Porcelain Punch; Of Prey; Racless; Monkeymarc; Flying Rats; Dj Soph fiya; Dj Helmy; Sam Star; Dame Dusky; Last Measure; Damage Deluxe; Awsk; Mini the Mutant; special guest Uncle Kevin Buzzacott aka Buzwapa. 4pm until 11:30pm. Irene's Warehouse, 5 Pitt St, Brunswick. Entry $15/10. Food Not Bombs serving 7:30pm.
Concert: The Exploited Australian tour. Formed in 1979, The Exploited is one of the UK's most politically outspoken thrash bands, which has built a strong and loyal following both at home and abroad for its anti-authoritarian stance and criticism of the government, particularly in the Reagan/Thatcher era. 8pm. The Corner Hotel, 57 Swan St, Richmond. Tickets from Corner Hotel.
Monday, April 30
Rally: Make It Real: National Disability Insurance Scheme 2012. We want to see the biggest rally of people with disabilities this country has ever seen so that the National Disability Insurance Scheme becomes a reality. 12 noon. Federation Square, cnr Flinders & Swanston Sts, City. For more info visit Make It Real.
Public meeting: Environmental justice in your community. 'Environmental justice' was coined in the 1980s in the United States by activists and academics to describe the unequal racial distribution of environmentally harmful activities. Since then the concept has been developed further by communities, activists, lawyers and academics to encompass not only the distribution of environmental harms and benefits but also rights to recognition and participation by citizens and communities in decisions affecting their health, amenity and well being. Presenter: Elizabeth McKinnon (lawyer, EDO). 7pm. Kellaway Avenue Neighbourhood Centre, 5 Kellaway Ave, Moonee Ponds. For more info ph 9379 1185 or visit Friends of Steele Creek. Presented by The Environment Defenders Office & Friends of Steele Creek.
Tuesday, May 1
Rally: Defend the right to protest. Defend the Max Brenner 19. 19 pro-Palestine activists on trial for civil disobedience. Stop Bailleau's criminalisation of dissent. 9am. Outside Magistrates Court, 233 William St, City. Organised by Students for Palestine.
Rally: May Day day of action. This MayDay, individuals and groups will be assembling at the Eight-Hour Monument, cnr Russell & Victoria Sts opposite Trades Hall to kick off the days celebrations and protests. If your group is planning a May Day activity, feel free to drop us an email and we will put in on the events page on May Day. Bring your signs, flags, appropriate clothing & accessesories for the weather, water and food for the day. Note: Be prepared to party.
Rally: May Day rally on May Day. March in solidarity with workers in struggle everywhere. 5:30pm. State Library, cnr La Trobe & Swanston Sts, City. Organised by Australia Asia Worker Links.
Public meeting: Launch of postcard campaign against insecure work. Come to the launch of a postcard campaign to tell the ACTU that insecure work is an important factor contributing to unequal pay. Get behind the call for the ACTU Congress to kick off a campaign for secure jobs that mobilises rank-and-file workers and builds a mass movement in workplaces and puts feet on the street. Ever been a casual worker, paid peanuts and treated like crap? The ACTU is currently heading a campaign against the epidemic of insecure work and we're hosting our own campaign in support. 6pm. The Elms Family Hotel, 269 Spring St, City. Presented by Pay Justice Action.
Campaign Website launch: Launch of ActivistRights.org.au. This website has been an important resource for activists in Victoria for the past six years. Thanks to funding from the Victoria Law Foundation, Fitzroy Legal Service, the contribution of legal workers, activists, and writers, and the support of the RMIT Human Right Education Unit we are proud to be launching a new, up-to-date and more comprehensive site. Please join us to celebrate. Speakers: Rob Stary, Tasneem Chopra, Gary Foley, and Occupy Melbourne. Debate: 'Activism Doesn’t Pay' facilitated by Sebastian Prowse, featuring Cam Walker (Friends of the Earth), Lizzie O’Shea (Maurice Blackburn) & Julia Dehm. Entertainment: Izzy (Combat Wombat), Oud performance by Fadil, and spoken word artist Sista Zai. 5:30pm. RMIT University, Building 56, Level 4, Room 81 (enter via Queensberry Street), City.
Film screening: Home. The first film that has been made using aerial-only footage. The film marks artist-activist Yann Arthus-Bertrand's feature film directorial debut and is a call to environmental action. 6pm. Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, City. Entry by donation. Ross House's The Big Picture series screens on the first Tuesday of each month.
Film screening: May Day film night. 7pm. Democritus Workers League, 538 High St, Northcote. Organised by Melbourne May Day Committee. For more info ph 9349 4411.
Wednesday, May 2
Public meeting: Keep Melbourne liveable! No new tollway! Emergency community meeting. Join community leaders, transport experts and Adam Bandt MP to find out what we can do to protect our community from the Baillieu government's plan to drive an East-West tollway through our community. 7pm. Dan O'Connell Hotel, 225 Canning St, Carlton.
Public meeting: Western Sahara: Africa's last colony. Speaker: Malak Amidan will tell the story of the Western Sahara conflict and the situation of human rights in her homeland. She will share her experiences of life in the occupied areas of Western Sahara where her people have been living in unbearable conditions for 37 years trapped in the territories occupied by Morocco where they suffer human rights abuses. Malak Amidan is a Saharawi human rights activist and trade unionist. She lives in the occupied zones of Western Sahara. 2pm. Room E405, Level 4, Building E, Footscray Park Campus, Victoria University. Presented by Victoria University School of Social Sciences & Psychology. Please RSVP by Friday, April 27 to Amanda Rea or ph 9919 2685.
Public meeting: Dispute mapping workshop. Discussion with local and international activists involved in current airline disputes. Who flies the planes? Who loads the food onto aircraft? Who does the maintenance? Where are we weakest? Where are we strongest? What's the best strategy? Where should we apply pressure? 6pm. Evatt Room, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. Presented by Australia Asia Worker Links.
Thursday, May 3
Rally: May Day wreath laying at 8-hour monument. 5pm. Opposite Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. Organised by Melbourne May Day Committee. For more info ph 9349 4411.
Rally: May Day multicultural event. 6pm. New Ballroom, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. Organised by Melbourne May Day Committee. For more info ph 9349 4411.
Book launch: The Activists’ Handbook & CSG Northern Rivers campaign presentation. 6pm. Experienced social and environmental activist, prominent activism educator and writer Aidan Ricketts will be the Wilderness Society Victoria's special. He will be launching his new book: The Activists' Handbook. He will also speak about his work on the cutting edge 'CSG-free Northern Rivers' campaign. For more information about Aiden's work or to get yourself a copy of The Activists' Handbook in advance visit Activists' Handbook. Please RSVP to Pia by April 30. The Loft, Level 2, Kindness House, 288 Brunswick St Fitzroy. For disability access ph Pia for entry on 0412 739 201. All welcome.
Friday, May 4
Rally: Occupy Friday. Every Friday Occupy Melbourne is reclaiming City Square for the people so we can rebuild our spirit of community, show people we're still here, still keen and that we can change the world. Join us for peaceful public assembly and political discussion. 12 noon-10pm. City Square, cnr Collins & Swanston Sts, City. For more info visit Occupy Melbourne.
Saturday, May 5
Rally: Save weekend penalty rates. 'You can't haz our weekend.' Some of Australia's biggest in the banking sector are scheming against our weekend. They're lobbying to get rid of penalty pay rates on Saturdays and Sundays by proposing we define weekend hours as ordinary business hours. This will allow them to get away with paying weekend workers no compensation for giving up time that everyone else is enjoying to relax and unwind. Join Workers Solidarity Network in telling the fat cat bankers 'You Can't Haz Our Weekend', by joining a protest at 11am outside the Commonwealth Bank on the corner of Bourke & Elizabeth Sts, City. For more info visit Workers Solidarity Network.
Rally: Belgrave climate impacts rally. The rally will focus on link between climate change and more extreme fire weather days. This will be one of many events across the globe focusing public attentionon the many impacts that climate change is already having on people, animals and ecosystems as part of the 350.0rg Climate Impacts global day of action. BYO climate change=bushfires placards. 10am. Ranges Community Health Centre, 1624 Burwood Highway, Belgrave. For more info email Belgrave climate rally or ph 5968 2824.
Launch: LIP magazine. LIP is an independent magazine for young women that aims to provide intelligent, thoughtful content for our equally intelligent and thoughtful readers. You may not find crass sex advice and body-shaming fashion pages here, but you will discover wonderful new female artists and musicians, a fresh outlook on feminism, and enough sass to shock the fainthearted. 8:30pm. John Curtin Hotel, near cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. Entry plus mag $15, entry alone $10. All proceeds go to keeping LIP in print. For more info, visit LIP Mag.
Sunday, May 6
Socialist Alliance May Day toast: Day of workers’ and international solidarity. Celebrate May Day with Socialist Alliance. Join us for a May Day warm-up: brunch, music, speakers & toast. Brunch from 10:15am, speakers & toast 10.45am. Resistance Centre, Level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). Speakers:Malak Amidane (trade unionist from El Aaiun, Western Sahara) will talk about the unfair treatment of Saharawi workers at the Bou Craa phosphate mine as well as the harsh punishment for Saharawi protesting for the right to self-determination; Paul Gilbert (assistant secretary, Australian Nursing Federation); Mohammed Zaher (Afghan community). Following the toast, we will join the official May Day march which starts at 1pm from Trades Hall. For more info ph 9639 8622 or 0413 377 978.
Rally: May Day march 2012. 1pm. Assemble Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. March followed by speakers & concert. Organised by Melbourne May Day Committee. For more info ph 9349 4411.
Tuesday, May 8
Public meeting: MAPW Victorian branch dinner: Reporting on war. Author and historian Richard Trembath is co-author of Witnesses to War, a book on the history of Australian war journalism. The dinner will be as usual at La Notte, 140 Lygon St, Carlton (near Queensberry St). $30 fixed price for a tasty and substantial meal, student members subsidised $15. RSVP to Carole or ph 9023 1948.
Rally: Vigil against the Afghanistan War. Is Australia withdrawing from the Afghanistan war? It seems clear that our military involvement is looking at continuing for quite some time yet. So let's keep the message strong: Stop the war. When we mean withdraw, we really mean withdraw. 4:30pm. Parliament Station, Spring Street, City.
Thursday, May 10
Pub night: What's the state of the climate? Zero Carbon Moreland's May pub night will look at the key messages from the recent State of the Climate report produced by CSIRO and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Leading the discussion will be Shoni Maguire from the Centre for Australian Weather & Climate Research (a partnership between the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO). Come along to learn about observations of Australia's climate and analysis of the factors that influence it. Zero Carbon Moreland pub nights occur regularly on the second Thursday of each month. 6pm. Little dining room, Edinburgh Castle, cnr Sydney Rd & Albion St, Brunswick.
Concert: Psycho-punk/ska/anarcho-folk-billy conflagration. With Admiral Ackbar's Dishonourable Discharge bringing their punk/ska rhythms back to the Bendigo, supported by streetpunk old-schoolers Spew'n'Guts, revolutionary anarcho-folks A Commoner's Revolt and psycho-billy psycho-punks Where's Grover. $5 solidarity price, $5 for those that are unemployed, and $5 for all the rest. 8pm. Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood.
Friday, May 11
Green Left Weekly Comedy Debate 2012: Australia needs an Abbott-proof fence. A sparkling night of progressive comedy. Hosted by Rod Quantock. With Matthew Grantham, Courteney Hocking, Toby Halligan, Minister for UnAustralian Affairs (aka Greg Fryer), Xavier Toby & Nellie Thomas. 7pm (for 8pm start). Coburg Town Hall, 90 Bell St, Coburg. Dinner & bar available. Tickets: $40 solidarity, $25 regular, $12 concession. Bookings strongly recommended: visit GLW comedy or ph 9639 8622. A fundraiser for Green Left Weekly.
Saturday, May 12
Rally: Stop Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Third anniversary of the death of Aboriginal transgender woman, Veronica Baxter (March 16). 11am. Old GPO, cnr Bourke & Elizabeth Sts, City. Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association.
Rally: National rally for marriage equality. Thousands are expected to march alongside one another in solidarity to demand that the Australian dederal government amend the current disciminative law prohibiting marriage equality. Let's keep up the pressure! Please invite every supporter of equality that you know! Let's make it big and loud so we won't be ignored! 1pm. State Library of Victoria, Swanston St, City.
Public meeting: Occupy & Beyond: Part 1 Share your thoughts on the strengths, weaknesses, successes and failures of the Occupy movement in Australia. Whether you were involved or not, everyone has a unique experience of Occupy and everyone has valuable insights to share. The forum will run in at least two parts. Part 1: Reflection and Evaluation. What was Occupy in Australia? Part 2: Future, Ideas, Solutions, Direction. Where might Occupy in Australia go to from here? (Date/ & venue TBA.) Part 1 at 12 noon-5pm. Melbourne University. This event is not endorsed by any Occupy movement, or any political organisation, but the idea has risen from people who have been contributing to or observing Occupy Melbourne. For more info visit Occupy Melbourne.
Tuesday, May 15
Book launch: The Road to Rainbow Liberation. Marriage, sex and gender rights today. Around the world, LGBTI people are under constant attack. The economic and social attacks are endless and conservative governments are constantly attempting to curb their rights. The radical queer movement has a long history dating back to the Stonewall Riots, a protest movement against brutal police and state repression. But the dream of queer and gender diverse liberation is an unfinished one, and requires mass action to rebuild it from the ground up. Join Socialist Alliance for the launch of the newly published pamphlet Road to Rainbow Liberation. Speakers Rachel Evans (co-author, Socialist Alliance member, queer rights activist & a founding member of Equal Love campaign); Graham Willet (queer historian, author & editor of Secret Histories of Queer Melbourne); Simba Kennedy (Youth gender diverse group (YGender) convenor). 6:30pm (meal from 6:30pm). Resistance Centre, Level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). Refreshments available. Organised by Socialist Alliance. For more info ph 9639 8622.
Public meeting: Victoria's flora &amp fauna: Where's the guarantee? For threatened species such as the Leadbeater's Possum, Victoria is a dangerous place to live. As developments like native forest logging and native vegetation clearance drive many species closer to extinction, Victoria's biodiversity laws do little to protect them. The Environment Defenders Office has will release a report in late April on Victoria’s biodiversity laws in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to allow logging in Toolangi and the Victorian government's decision to wind ba (Law Reform Director, Environment Defenders Office); Luke Chamberlain (Campaigns Director, The Wilderness Society (Victoria)); Kylie White (Executive Director, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment). 5:45pm. 60L Green Building, 60 Leicester St, Carlton. Register at Forests. No charge but registrations are essential.
Public forum & radio play allegory: Turning the Titanic. Concerned about complacency, denial, government inactivity and reversals on global warming issues? Make your presence felt by coming to this public forum and help 'turn the Titanic'. The newly updated radio play allegory Turning the Titanic will be performed. Presented by A GRAND Stand for the Environment Inc. Guest Facilitator: David Spratt (co- author of Climate Code Red). 7:30 pm. Civic Centre, 699 Doncaster Rd, Manningham. For more info ph Catherine Tinel 0412 746 022 or visit Turning the Titanic.
Concert: Public Enemy 25th anniversary Australian tour. 'My place in hip-hop is not to be a tycoon, making trillions with a yacht . . . My place is maybe bringing people together and me being able to identify and illuminate a cause, and we'll make it comfortable for them to be themselves but say what they've really been wanting to say all along . . . with my protection.' (Chuck D) 7:30pm. The Palace, 20-30 Bourke Street, City. To book visit Public Enemy.
Thursday, May 17
Public meeting: Altona loop: one year since timetables were changed. An opportunity for community conversation with leaders on the impacts of timetable change on train services one year on, solutions, and how long before we get real improvement? 6:30pm. Altona RSL, Sargood Street, Altona. Organised by Altona Loop Group.
Friday, May 18
Rally: Protest Israeli apartheid: Boycott companies that profit from occupation. Demonstration targeting companies in Melbourne that profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. 6pm. Old GPO, cnr Bourke & Elizabeth Sts, City. Organised by Students for Palestine. After a march and speeches we will be returning to Trades Hall where we will have a forum on Al Nakba (the catastrophe).
Public meeting: Al Nakba forum. Ilan Pappe joins us via video link to demonstrate that Israel was born through the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948. Organised by Students for Palestine. 7pm. Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South.
Saturday, May 19
Public meeting: Get angry, get active, if not now, when? Resistance and Socialist Alliance present a day of radical ideas and discussion to give young people a political voice, and talk about how we can go about campaigning around different issues and get organised. This will be a day of radical ideas for radical youth who want to help make a change in the world around them. We will have 5 workshops for the day, discussing various issues which effect young people, and a range of campaigns we are involved in. Workshops include: 11:30am-12:45 Womens/queer/transgender rights & Refugee rights; 12:45-1:30pm Lunch break; 1:30-2:45pm Environmental campaigning & Arts, culture & activism; 3-4:30pm Youth exploitation & how we fight it. Radical musician and activist Mitch Cherry will also play us out with some songs of protest to finish the day. 11:30am-4:30pm. Resistance Centre, Level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT).
Sunday May 27
Concert: Anti-Flag / Strike Anywhere Australian tour. 'Get up! Your voices are needed!' Justin Sane shouts on Anti Flag's new studio album, The General Strike. Recorded and produced by Anti-Flag at their home studio The General Strike is poised to be the sound track for the masses of dissatisfied private citizens that are currently protesting corporate injustice and governmental power around the world. Doors 7:30pm. Hifi Bar, 125 Swanston St, City. To book visit Anti-Flag.
Sunday June 17
Rally: World Refugee Day rally & march. 20 years too long, end mandatory detention. Speakers, then march to the Emerge Festival in Fitzroy. Bring your banners, signs & messages. 12pm. State Parliament House, cnr Spring & Bourke Sts, City. Organised by Refugee Action Collective. For more info visit Refugee Advocacy Network or ph 0413 377 978.
Tuesday June 19
Public meeting: US forces in Australia: Security or threat? Speakers: Richard Tanter who is writing extensively on this topic; Nic Maclellan who will discuss the effect on our neighbours of this even closer relationship with the US military; Okinawan Australian Maki Yohana; and aspeaker from the Philippines. MAPW has joined with several other organisations to inform and discuss a campaign around the expanding US military presence in Australia and implications for our region. 6:30pm. Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton South. For more info visit MAPW.
Saturday, July 14
Roxby Downs, South Australia Rally: The Lizards Revenge. Music & art festival. Response to the governments decision to expand Olympic Dam mine. Sleeping underneath the ground there is an old sleepy lizard, Kalta. The lizard ain't so sleepy anymore. BHP is mining right into that lizards body. The government has just approved an expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine, making it the biggest uranium mine in the world. Kalta is angry and wants revenge. Arabana elder Kevin Buzzacott is calling the people of the world to help the lizard shut down the mine. He is calling for people to come and heal the land in the name of peace and justice for the next 10,000 generations to come. For more info email Izzy.
Friday, July 20-Sunday July 22
Adelaide Conference: Resistance National Conference 2012: Time for Revolution! University of Adelaide, Union House. For more info ph 0437 714 786 or visit Resistance.

Geelong & regional Victoria

Friday, May 4
Concert: The Salon presents: The Dead Peasants & friends. 'Because after the revolution every intersection will be a dance floor' (Pat (the Bunny) Schneeweis). Through our music and artistic expression we are able to reach out to people and connect with them on a level which has been switched off by the mainstream. One which exists beyond the bounds of profits, beyond the realms of language. We create societies the likes of which we wish to see. Come join the Salon for its opening gig; a celebration of art culture and politics. 7-10pm. 229 Malop St, Geelong. Entry by donation.
Saturday, May 5
2012 Green Left Weekly May Day dinner: Demand & celebrate the right to strike! With special guest Len Cooper, secretary, Communication Workers Union (Vic) & a founding member of the current Right to Strike campaign. 7pm. Downstairs, Trades Hall, 127 Myers St, Geelong. $40 solidarity, $30 regular, $20 concession (prices include dinner). Entertainent, drinks available. Organised by Socialist Alliance in support of Green Left Weekly. For more info or bookings ph 5222 6900 or 0458 747 726.
Tuesday, May 15
Geelong One Fire reconcillation film screening: Mad Bastards. 'A beautifully measured take on violence and redemption . . . irresistible . . . a sublime soundtrack . . . a triumph in every sense.' (94 mins) Screening followed by discussion. 7:30pm. Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-op, Lot 62 Morgan Street, North Geelong (please park outside the entrance and follow the signs). Donations appreciated. Please let us know if you need help to get there: Geelong One Fire. For more info visit Geelong One Fire.
Friday, May 18
Red Cinema presents: Made in Dagenham. Made in Dagenham (released as We Want Sex in Germany and Italy and We Want Sex Equality in France) is a 2010 British film directed by Nigel Cole.Starring Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike and Jaime Winstone. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women. The film's theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, herself a former Dagenham Ford clerk.7pm (meal available from 6:30pm). $15/$10. Downstairs, Trades Hall, 127 Myers St, Geelong. Organised by Socialist Alliance in support of Green Left Weekly. For more info or bookings ph 5222 6900 or 0458 747 726.
Wednesday, May 23
Wonthaggi Public meeting: Climate change: the solutions. Can we solve the problem and do it responsibly? Matthew Wright, award-winning energy expert, working with Melbourne Universities Energy Research Institute, will show how an Australian transition to 100% renewable energy is possible within 10 years. 7:30pm. Town Hall, McBride Ave, Wonthaggi. For more info ph Aileen Vening 5672 2677 or Chris Heislers 0419 556 381.
Wednesday, July 4-Sunday July 8
Bendigo Conference: Students of Sustainability 2012. Students of Sustainability (SoS) is a five-day camping conference full of inspiring workshops, forums, tours, discussions with students, activists, Indigenous groups, academics, environmentalists, and communities from around Australia. It's an awesome opportunity to meet like-minded people, to share knowledge and skills related to current environmental and social justice issues and have lots of fun. Bendigo Campus, La Trobe Uni, Bendigo. Subsidised tickets are available for those who need them. For more info visit SOS.

Saturday, 28 January 2012

Friday, 27 January 2012

Australian media blacks out blackfellas unless there's a blame game to play


Picture from here - inserted 2 February 2012

Apologies for the length of this post. 
Put things needed to be said.
Please stay to the end because there's and eyewitness account
and an eyewitness photo ... even if the professionals turned blind eyes.

On the 24 January, I received an email from switchedon@your.abc.net.au.  In this email, the ABC - Australia's national, government funded, public radio - let me know what they were planning to put to air on Thursday 26 January, Australia Day.  Here is what they told me they were doing.

I was rather disgusted at what the ABC was boasting about showing Australia in relation to Australia Day.  Please note: there was not one mention of Aboriginal people or events.  In Canberra, the 40th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was being celebrated and commemorated.  Indigenous people were coming to town to remember the history of the Embassy and were planning to make and re-make public claims to Aboriginal sovereignty on the continent of Australia.   I would have thought this was a newsworthy event and I wrote to Switched On as follows:
Dear Switched On Folk,
Wonderful to hear of all the goings on at the ABC including the Australia Day stuff.  Just thought it funny that nothing Aboriginal rated a mention.  I would have thought the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra would have provided enough interesting people and goings-on for the ABC to have a field day with some left over.
SO, could you please advise what, if anything, you are doing that is Aboriginal on 26 January - or mustn't we embarrass the nation by reminding it of its history?

Needless to say, I have not received a reply.  However it is now clear that the Australian media has had a field day:
Let's face a few facts here:
  1. People right and left, black and white - over the past 40 years - have wanted, and have tried, to rid Canberra of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.  The Embassy has been regarded as unsightly - and, to be sure, it is certain not to win any prestigious architectural or design awards unless there is a new category of 'Occupy in Protest'.  However, this week one of Australia's most significant writers on architecture has found the Aboriginal Tent Embassy newsorthy.
  2. In the last year or so, we have seen - across the world in Egypt, the USA, London, Melbourne, Sydney - tents set up in conspicuous places as an aid to protest.  Seems that the oldest culture in the whole world has come in ahead of more 'civilised' cultures with their Occupy movement maintained not for forty days but forty years.  See Greg Cowan's paper Nomadic Resistance: Tent Embassies and Collapsible Architecture: Illegal architecture and protest.
  3. Tony Abbott's words - "I think a lot has changed for the better since then," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Australia Day. "I think the indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they are held by every Australian. "I think a lot has changed since then, and I think it probably is time to move on from that."  - demonstrate the inability of the majority of Australian people to think themselves into the situation that many - but not all - Aboriginal people find themselves in.  This comes from a leader whose party conspired on the basis of lies and innuendo, racism and ignorance to establish a system of Intervention in the lives of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.  Abbott and Gillard are members of governments who, to act against Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory, removed from Australian law the need to abide by Australia's obligations under the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
  4.  Abbott claimed that Aboriginal people are held in respect in Australia.  As a generality and on the basis of Liberal/National Party and Australian Labor Party actions, this is not true.  In fact, it is my own view, that lack of respect has always been at the heart of majority Australian attitudes to Aboriginal people.  Which brings me back to the fact that the ABC had no plans to bring inclusive positive stories of Aboriginal Australia in its Australia Day coverage.  
  5. Yesterday, in connection with the 40th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, 1500 people marched from the Australian National University (ANU) to new Parliament House.  I am told that no media was visibly recording or reporting this event.  The media was not to be seen. In short, the media don't want to know about the Aboriginal Tent Embassy or Aboriginal views on sovereignty.
  6. Australian professionals providing security to our public figures need to reconsider their intelligence and their methods.  Yesterday's public performance looked like they had participated in too many American Presidential motorcades and watched too many American action movies.  The security organisations concerned clearly had no respect for the presence of Aboriginal Australians in the vicinity of The Lobby restaurants.  
It is clear to me that there is widespread disrepect for Aboriginal peoples, culture, and claims in Australia.  Respect is absent from the very top of our civil and political leadership down to yobbos on the beaches at Cronulla and Bondi.  There are people - black and white - staffing the beachhead of reconciliation together.  However, they are few and their message is being ignored.  

EYEWITNESS PHOTO FROM 
DIANA HAYWOOD RANKINE IN CANBERRA

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Green Left Weekly Activist Calendar 2012-01-18


Coming events


Wednesday, January 18
Solidarity candelight vigil for hunger strikers at Broadmeadows. See display advertisement above. 7-10pm. Melbourne Immigration Transit Accomodation, 120-150 Camp Road, Broadmeadows (behind Maygar army Barracks). Bring a candle. Organised by Refugee Action Collective. For more info ph Daniella Olea 0404 189 272 or Sue Bolton 0413 377 978.
Friday, January 20
Rally: Honour freedom fighters Tunnerminnerwait & Maulboyheener. Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were among 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. 12 noon. RMIT entrance, cnr Bowen & Franklin Sts, City.
Rally: Occupy Melbourne: Occupy Fridays! Contributors to Occupy Melbourne have organised a recurring occupation of City Square held every Friday. Occupy Fridays is our chance to reclaim our voice and our square! Organised events include Q & A sessions, debates, guest speakers, spoken word, bands/music, skills training sessions, discussion groups and Working Group meetings! The aim of this is to get people involved in their community, meet like-minded people, learn some new skills and feel empowered to take action for a better world today! 10am-10pm. City Square, cnr Collins & Swanston Sts, City. For more info visit Occupy Melbourne.
Saturday, January 21
Public meeting: The war on the internet. The response of governments and corporations to Wikileaks, Anonymous, the Occupy movement and the Arab Spring has been defensive and warlike. The internet and social media were declared tools of agitation. Behaviour that sought peaceful democratic reform was characterised as treasonous or even terrorist. Speakers: Jacob Applebaum (core member of the Tor project for online anonymity, based at the University of Washington, he has been repeatedly targeted by US law enforcement); Bernard Keane (Crikey journalist, author of War on the Internet); Scott Ludlam ( Australian Greens senator); Suelette Dreyfus (author & researcher on whistleblowing). A message from Julian Assange will kick off the event. Entry free. 3pm. New Council Chambers, Trades Hall, cnr Victoria & Lygon Sts, Carlton South. Organised by Electronic Frontiers Australia & the Greens.
Public meeting: Global day of solidarity with the ongoing Egyptian revolution. Speakers: Alaa Abdul-Fattah (activist), Said Sadek (academic), Fatima Naout (writer), Nawwara Negm (writer). 6:30pm. Brunswick Town Hall, 233 Sydney Rd, Brunswick. For more info ph Hani 0421 370 501 or Reham 0425 743 375.
Saturday, January 21-Sunday January 22
Festival: Wominjeka Festival. Footscray Community Arts Centre and Maribyrnong City Council present a celebration of Koorie culture featuring: The Black Arm Band Company performing Murundak. Wominjeka means welcome in the language of the Kulin Nation and you are invited to welcome in 2012 with this free celebration of Koorie culture. Entry free. 6-10pm Saturday; 11am–4.30pm Sunday. River Lawn, Footscray Community Arts Centre, 45 Moreland St, Footscray.
Thursday, January 26
Canberra Rally: Stand up & be counted on Sovereignty Day. Invitation to the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. For more info visit Sovereignty Day.
Festival: Share the Spirit Festival 2012. Celebrating Survival Day. Indigenous music, dance and culture as part of Melbourne’s official Survival Day celebrations. 1-7pm. Treasury Gardens.
Festival: 2012 Belgrave Survival Day. This event acknowledges the indigenous perspective on the 230 years of European occupation of Australia, and celebrates the survival of the oldest living culture on the globe through live music, storytelling, traditional dance and craft. Speakers will include in Elder Aunty Dot Peters from Healesville, Gary Presland and Rodney Augustine from the Save the Kimberley campaign. Featuring Yung Warriors and Lou Bennett; traditional stories by Gnarnayarrahe Waitairie and the Jindi Worobak Dance Troupe; Wurundjeri elders will be undertaking a smoking ceremony. 12 noon-4pm. Borthwick Park (next to the Belgrave Pool), Benson St, Belgrave.
Friday, January 27
Rally: Occupy Melbourne: Occupy Fridays! See January 20 entry. 10am-10pm. City Square, cnr Collins & Swanston Sts, City. For more info visit Occupy Melbourne.
Saturday, January 28
Public meeting: Melbourne Sexuality, Sex & Gender Collective campaign launch. MSSGC is a campaign collective which has specifically been set up as a broad, inclusive group with the goal of campaigning around issues that will target homophobia, transphobia & sexism among young people. 3pm. Resistance Centre, level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). For more info ph 9639 8622 or 0432 719 335.
Film screening: Backroads. Phillip Noyce's legendary first featurette, a gritty hybrid of B-noir, 1970s road movie and black-white race relations allegory, stars Bill Hunter and Aboriginal actor/activist Gary Foley as a pair of petty criminals on the run in a big yellow Pontiac along the dusty roads of western NSW. Presented in collaboration with the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. 4pm. ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square, City. $8 (ACMI members $6).
Thursday, February 2
Public meeting: After 'Homosexual'. The legacies of gay liberation. Speakers: Dennis Altman; Alice Echols; Jeffrey Weeks; hosted by Helen Razer. 6pm. ACMI, Federation Square, City. Presented by La Trobe University & the Australian Lesbian & Gay Archives. $17/14. For more info visit Midsumma.
Friday, February 3
Rally: Occupy Melbourne: Occupy Fridays! See January 20 entry. 10am-10pm. City Square, cnr Collins & Swanston Sts, City. For more info visit Occupy Melbourne.
Booklaunch: Life Without Money. Building Fair and Sustainable Economies. This book engages with today's big economic, environmental, democratic and social challenges; edited by Anitra Nelson & Frans Timmerman. Speaker: Jeff Sparrow (editor Overland). Entry free. 6:30pm. Readings Bookshop, 309 Lygon St, Carlton.
Saturday, February 4
Booklaunch: Life Without Money. Building Fair and Sustainable Economies. Speakers: Moss Cass, (former Whitlam government minister) & Julia Dehm (Occupy Melbourne activist) in conversation with Anitra Nelson and Frans Timmerman (co-editors of Life Without Money). 3pm. New International Book Shop, Trades Hall, Carlton South.
Sunday, February 5
Rally: Pride march. Gather from 12 noon for march at 2pm Sharp. Cnr Lakeside Dr & Fitzroy St, St Kilda. For more info visit Pride march.
Tuesday, February 7
Film screening: The end of the line. Where have all the fish gone? The first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans; we see firsthand the effects of our global love affair with fish as food. Talk with Sea Shepherd after the film. 7pm. Level 4, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, City. Entry by donation. The Big Picture at Ross House is a monthly film series showing films for the environment and social justice. This month we're supporting Sea Shepherd.
Friday, February 10
Rally: Israeli Apartheid Inc. Corporate criminals BDS tour. As part of the global Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions campaign, Students for Palestine is taking on corporations in Melbourne's CBD that support the theft of Palestinian land and the brutality of the Israeli military. 6pm. Bourke St, Mall. For more info visitStudents for Palestine or ph 0410 513 302.
Rally: Occupy Melbourne: Occupy Fridays! See January 20 entry. 10am-10pm. City Square, cnr Collins & Swanston Sts, City. For more info visit Occupy Melbourne.
Saturday, February 11
Rally: Stop Aboriginal deaths in custody. Death in custody of Terrance Briscoe, Alice Springs (January 5, 2012); 4th anniversary of the death of Mr Ward (January 27); 5th anniversary of Queensland Police officer, Chris Hurley, being forced to front the Supreme Court charged with manslaughter and assault (February 5); 8th anniversary of the death of TJ Hickey (February 14). Stop Aboriginal deaths in custody: implement all 339 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. End privatisation of custodial services: cancel all contracts with G4S, SERCO and other profiteers from incarceration. 11am. Old GPO, cnr Bourke & Elizabeth Sts, City. Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association. For more info ph 9388 0062.
Public meeting: Melbourne Climate Action Groups Meeting 2012. (Note change of date). 9am-5pm. South Melbourne Commons. Entry by donation. For more info email Brett.
Indigenous rights film festival. Featuring: The Coolbaroo Club (about racial apartheid in Perth in the late 1940s and fifties); The Tall Man (deals with the killing of Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island in 2004); Ningla A-Na [Hungry for our land] (documentary about the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972). Starts 3pm. Further details TBA. Resistance Centre, level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). Organised by Green Left Weekly & Socialist Alliance. For more info ph 9639 8622.
Friday, February 17
Film screening: Our Generation. Outdoor screening of documentary made by Sinem Saban & Damien Curtis about the NT Intervention; and a short film about the Kimberley campaign opposing the proposed gas hub at James Price Point. The screening will be preceded by live music and speakers including Greens Senator Richard di Natale. The focus is on making connections between the issues affecting indigenous communities in northern Australia, and involving us all in finding solutions. Doors open 6pm, speakers 7pm, and live music until dark, feature starts at 9pm. $20/$16. Bookings CERES. CERES Village Green, cnr Roberts & Stewart Sts, Brunswick East. For more info ph 9389 0100.
Friday, February 17-Sunday, February 19
Festival: Sustainable Living Festival 2012. Federation Square & Birrarung Marr Event Park, near cnr Swanston & Flinders Sts, City. For more info visit SLF.
Sunday, February 19
The 'Please resist me' poetry slam tour Melbourne launch. Hosted by esteemed poet and rapper Omar Musa (Moneykat). 6:30pm. Performance Revolt, 12 Elizabeth St, Kensington. $18/$15. Organised by the Centre for Poetics and Justice. For more info visit CPJ.
Tuesday, February 28
Rally: India's general strike: Melbourne supports the world's largest ever strike. On February 28, over 100 million Indians will join together and walk off the job in what is likely to be the largest strike of workers the world has ever seen. The different labor unions have specific demands that they want to achieve with the strike. These include bringing contract workers up to the same level of employee protections as permanent workers, extending the minimum wage to cover the entire population, and countering the attacks on unions. Workers around the world will be standing in solidarity with those fighting for economic justice in India. 5:30pm. Federation Square, City. For more info visit Workers' Solidarity Network.
Thursday, March 8
Public meeting: The Occupy movement: An infantile disorder? Melbourne University Graduate House, 220 Leicester St, Carlton. For more info visit The Monthly Argument.
Sunday, March 11
Rally: Commemoration of Fukushima nuclear disaster. Part of international day of action. 1pm. State Library, cnr Swanston & Latrobe Sts, City. Organised by MAPW, ICAN, Japanese for Peace and others. For more info visit 11 March.
Friday, April 6
Canberra Rally: Easter convergence on Darwin 2012. Free the refugees, end mandatory detention. Marks 10 years since the refugee rights movement's first Easter convergence at Woomera 2002, when busloads of protesters from across the country met magnificent protests by detainees, many of whom leapt through the fence and literally into the arms of the movement. Darwin is rapidly becoming Australia's detention capital. Chronic levels of self-harm and protest have put the Northern Immigration Detention Centre (NIDC) in a state of perpetual crisis. 341 continue to languish at NIDC, with scores more at the Darwin Airport Lodge For more info visit RAC.

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.

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