5:30 am on Wednesday, the Tactical Response Unit surrounded the Occupy Brisbane camp at Post Office Square and ordered a directive to leave the site. At 8am they had relocated to Queens Park, but were forcibly removed by police from there at 9am Thursday. 12 people were arrested. A General Assembly has been called by OB organisers for 5pm today Thursday, Nov 3rd), King George Square.
Occupy Brisbane FB | Occupy Brisbane website
According to supporters, police gave OB two hours to comply on Thursday before they start making arrests. @Anne_Okeefe, Breakfast reporter with ABC612 who stayed with them after fences were erected, says 14 people may have been arrested, while police media say no one has been arrested as of 7:30am.Brisbane Times reported that four people were arrested and later released.
ABC Radio 612 reports some protesters are determined to stay at the site while others have begun marching to Queens Park opposite the Treasury Casino, just a block from the Brisbane City Council headquarters and near the QLD government executive building.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graheme Quirk says that the new occupy site at Queens Park is the responsibility of the State Government, not the Brisbane City Council. A police spokesperson told ABC news it will be "very difficult" to get restitution for damages to the grass because of the loose structure of the organisation.
According to a FB supporter, Police used the Parks Ordinance of the Brisbane City Council to enforce the eviction: "under number 9 of parks ordinance; 9.(1) No person other than an officer shall affix or post any bill, placard, or notice to or upon any wall or fence in or enclosing a park, or to or upon any tree, or any part of a building, barrier, or railing, or of any fixed or movable seat, or of any other structure in a park. (2) Paragraph (1) of this Ordinance shall not apply in respect of an advertising device within the meaning of Part 3 of Chapter 5 of the Ordinances or any Ordinance amending or in substitution therefor, put up within any enclosed park or reserve or within any enclosed part of a park or reserve which is used either generally or occasionally for the playing of any competitive sport or game if the advertising device was put up pursuant to a subsisting license granted by the Council or its delegate under such Ordinance."
Photos by ABC612, @bkjabour and 4ZZZ's Stephen Stockwell.
For the latest updates follow twitter #occupybrisbane and listen to livestream of 4ZZZ's Brisbane Line at 12 noon today http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/listen-online
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Good work to all those who are prepared to Occupy. Dylan
Good work to all those who are prepared to Occupy. Dylan.
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Field Report- Day 18. Difficult to encapsulate in a measly thousand characters today's events but here goes. At the behest of Brisbane City Council QPS began evicting the Occupation Just before 0500 although the Occupiers did not hesitate to let Brisbane know how we felt with "Show me what democracy looks like" echoi...ng through the early morning city streets. The echo did not subside until nearly 0800, when occupiers landed exhausted at Queens Park. There was a great deal of emotion and tears shed, some panic and heartbreak. At Queens park we were advised by QPS that the moment a tent goes up, police will move in and fence off the park. Some are staying tonight, some require a few days off. The focus is all now on Nov 5th, and the possible occupation of Roma St parkland. It should be noted, that officials and ABC radio complimented us on our very thorough clean up. We have a lawn care specialist as well as grass seeds, and our offer for free landscaping was rejected out of hand by BCC.
Video and details of arrests from Queens Park
Video and details of arrests from Queens Park from Brisbane Times
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/police-arrest-occupy-brisbane...
Difficult for privileged people to see injustice in Australia
It is very difficult for people with privelege to see, let alone understand, that such injsutice does exist even .
In defence of current public perception that 'genital grabbing' #occupybrisbane protestor was distainful in court, most media reports are failing to mention he has a mental illness and as result is also homeless.
One of the good, albeit difficult, things to come out of the Occupy movement has been the acceptance of homeless people into the occupy camps everywhere. It is testament to the failure of the mental health system that so many needy people are homeless through no fault of thier own. While the presence of homeless people has been a factor in public condemnation of the movement as "smelly hippies who should get a job", this is a wrong perception.
The Occupy Movement has a big job ahead of them raising awareness of the problem of poverty, homelessness and injustice within our otherwise affluent society. It is very difficult for people with privelege to see, let alone understand, that such injsutice does exist even in Australia.
The recent Social Justice Index survey of 30 OECD countries places Australia at 21, well below average. One of the things we are doing appalling badly at in particular is poverty prevention.
Many Australians are poor and this point needs to gotten across to those who don't feel poor themselves, if this movement is to suceed. Poverty does not only mean someone has failed to "get a job" through lack of effort or bad choices, it can be the result of a chain of events and structural inequalities that put a person at a disadvantage. It can also be the result of circumstances, like mental illness, entirely out of the control of individuals suffering them. The Occupy movement has taken on many issues of injustice, and that of attitudes towards the mentally ill is just on of them worth pursuing.