200 police evict Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy on 1st day of new LNP parliament

Wed 16 May 2012
By kimk

Related: After Qld Police violently attacked and dismantled Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Brisbane this morning, Comrade Sam Watson led a protest to Qld Parliament House:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Aos43AXIzlo#!

At about 6am this morning 200 police evicted about 100 people at the Sovereign Embassy at Musgrave Park in Brisbane. The police action was under orders of the Brisbane City Council who say they must move on so that the Greek Panyiri Festival can use the park this weekend.

Poverty is increasing, life is getting harder says The Salvos, Shelters for the Needy, Renters Alliance, Human Rights Alliance

Wed 16 May 2012
By Gerry Georgatos

Gerry Georgatos
The Salvation Army says life is getting bleaker for our poorest, and that the numbers of poor are increasing.

The Salvation Army's annual survey drew responses from more than 1700 folk and is backed by Shelters for the Needy spokesperson Lea Keenan who said that the nation's poor have grown and that more Australians are homeless than ever before.

Police amassing at James Price Point (Monday May 14) - after yesterday's 600 people power peaceful protest at Broome Police Station

Mon 14 May 2012
By Gerry Georgatos

Gerry Georgatos - INDYMEDIA first with this story - Australia needs Indymedia.
Today, Monday May 14, after yesterday's peaceful protest by 600 folk outside Broome Police Station, police are amassing in large numbers at Blacktank camp access route - to ensure Woodside Petroleum geophysical site work for the proposed gas hub precinct at James Price Point. Police are reportedly expected at Manari Road access (near Walmandan Tent Embassy), and Cape Leveque after between 140 to 250 police officers with riot gear arrived in Broome in the last several days.

Aboriginal Passports issued to two Asylum Seekers incarcerated at Villawood

Mon 14 May 2012
By Gerry Georgatos

Gerry Georgatos
Sydney's Indigenous Social Justice Association president Ray Jackson tried to issue Aboriginal passports to two Tamil Asylum Seekers who are detained at the Villawood Centre.

Because he held a news conference outside the Villawood Detention Centre, he and three other gentlemen were denied a meeting with the two Tamil men, which had been previously agreed to, by SERCO's centre management.

Mr Jackson speaks to SBS: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/radio/episode/215387/Symbolic-passports-issue...

Asylum seekers call for justice - Australian Hazaras protest against genocide in Pakistan and Afghanistan, May 10th Parliament House Canberra, United Nations and Pakistan embassy

Sun 13 May 2012
By Anonymous

by Catherine Mpofu On Thursday May 10th thousands of men, women and children from the peaceful, deeply spiritual and ancient race of Hazaras; a minority of Afghanistan, gathered from across Australia in our nation’s capital to have their voices heard.

They gathered to protest against the systematic and ever increasing genocide that is being committed against them particularly in Quetta Pakistan and also in Afghanistan. More than 700 hundred Hazaras have been killed for past several years in Quetta. Many of their influential individuals such as politicians, sportspersons, writers, doctors and social activists have been brutally targeted and murdered. Canberra’s protest joins the rolling worldwide protests by Hazaras in all major cities in the last month including London, Stockholm and Hamburg. http://www.hazarapeople.com/

Parliamentary sources speak about Aboriginal Australia - I have published this in the hope "that it is not too late"

Sun 13 May 2012
By Gerry Georgatos

Gerry Georgatos
As the government’s chances of re-election appear in tatters, some of their parliamentarians and Cabinet ministers believe that not all hope is lost, and some, as if in living up to the notion that politics is a calling, believe that in the year they have left in government that much can be achieved for the people of Australia, including Aboriginal peoples, according to two parliamentarians who spoke in confidence to The National Indigenous Times.

Baillieu government funds new prisons while slashing public TAFE education

Fri 11 May 2012
By takver

Angry TAFE teachers and students attended a rally today to protest the massive cuts to TAFE vocational education and training in the Victorian Budget handed down on May 1, 2012. The implications of massive defunding is a softening up of the public TAFE institutes for privatisation. The budget cuts will mean substantial redundancies of teachers, especially in smaller regional TAFE institutes, a major increase in course fees, and loss of subsidiary student services such as study skills assistance, library services and counselling.

Flickr Photos: Takver, NTEUvic, Thomas Lim | TAFE4All Facebook Album | Tafe4all
Youtube Videos: Mary Bluett, Colin Long, Brian Boyd, student perspective

Mardi Grass 2012 Nimbin, Australia Nimbin's Mardi Grass 2012

Thu 10 May 2012
By Anonymous

Mardi Grass in Nimbin is a movable feast: of colour, music and social networking along with mind-bending substance ingestion. The marijuana harvest is in and the green hills and valleys of Nimbin are awash with the best buds known to man. I used to live in Nimbin in the early nineties and always try and make the pilgrimage to Nimbin at this time if I'm in the country. Consequently, I've been to quite a few Mardi Grasses, not that I can claim to remember too much of what went down. I was in Nimbin at the first Mardi Grass in 1993. Compared to today it was a modest affair, with perhaps a hundred people in attendance.

Two sides to the debate on logging forests and the issues that concern us all

Thu 10 May 2012
By Gerry Georgatos

What are the issues affecting forestry, timber harvesting, the loss of habitats? Environmental Scientist, Dr Beth Schulz says logging is a crime against nature. Forester and Chair of the WA division of Foresters of Australia, John Clarke says anti-logging protestors have got it wrong and that Western Australia's regrowth forests are thriving. Read the full article as the two sides of the forestry debate are presented

Lizard's Revenge - Shut Down Roxby 14.7.2012

Wed 09 May 2012
By Flowerpower

Recently BHP Billiton announced it proposal to expand the Olympic Dam Uranium Mine in South Australia to become the largest open pit and uranium mine in the world. Traditional owner Uncle Kevin Buzzacott and activist/musician Izzy Brown are organizing the Lizard's Revenge. On 14th July people are gathering for three days to shut down Roxby Downs which is irreversibly poisoning the land and water, contaminating its workers and spreading its deadly export to the Fukishimas of tomorrow and to war zones in the form of Depleted Uranium. As well as blockading the Lizard Festival will include solar and wind powered cinema, Theatre, Cabaret and Art installations, and over 20 musical acts.

Sleeping underneath the ground there is an old lizard, Kalta the sleepy lizard. The lizard ain't so sleepy anymore. Stand up and boogie down at the Gates of Olympic Dam 14th July 2012

Related Interview with organiser Izzy Brown -- Lizard's Revenge on Facebook -- Lizard's Revenge Indymedia event -- RoxStop Action Website -- May 18th Perth Dinnner and Talk -- June 2nd Sydney Fundraiser -- Road trip for change: July 3rd-20th