Banner says "Lest We Forget 227 Years" at a protest against closure of Aboriginal communites, Melbourne March 13.
About 1000 Aboriginal rights activists shut down Melbourne’s CBD on March 13 in a protest against the WA government’s plan to close 150 of the state’s 274 remote Indigenous communities. The communities house more than 12,000 Aboriginal people.
Protest organier Meriki Onus, a member of Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, said Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s comments that living in remote communities was a “lifestyle choice” were “blatantly racist”.
“These people live where their ancestors have been for tens of thousands of years,” she said. “There will be [thousands of] Aboriginal refugees if these communities close.”
The protest was part of a national day of action, with rallies in Brisbane and Adelaide also.
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Protest banner reads "We Are Still Here" on Aboriginal flag.
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Protesters marching, chanting and holding banners and placards.
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Protester holding Socialist Alliance placard at the rally.
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Protesters occupy Flinders Street at Flinders Street Station.
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Banner with the details of the Genocide Convention Act 1949.
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Protester with a Close Kiribilli placard.