ADELAIDE — "No Means No" is the theme of a rally organised to protest against the closure of the Rape Crisis Centre. The rally will be outside the ALP Council meeting at the United Trades and Labor Council, South Terrace, from 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 10.
- About 100 people attended a protest on May 27, at the court cases of people arrested during the Nurrungar demonstrations at Easter. Protesters gathered outside the court with banners criticising the US bases, and when entering they cut a replica lease that permitted the US to occupy the base. Construction, Forestry and Mining Employees' Union secretary Ben Carslake said Nurrungar was owned by the Kokatha Aboriginal people, but because of the base "every time the US goes to war, we go to war".
BRISBANE — Calling for withdrawal of Serbian forces from Bosnia and for an end to the UN arms embargo against the Bosnian Muslims, 500 people rallied in King George Square here on May 29. The protesters then marched through city streets to State Parliament. Sponsored by the Islamic Council of Queensland, the rally heard speakers from community organisations who condemned the massacre of Bosnian civilians and the Serbian policy of "ethnic cleansing".
- Protesting against the state government's plan to allow a golf course to be built on national park land at Woodwark Bay, near the Whitsundays on the Queensland Central Coast, some 50 people picketed the Hong Kong Bank of Australia building here on May 28.
- The Media Action Group held a picket outside the Courier-Mail on May 25, objecting to a column by Lawrie Kavanagh which criticised taxpayer funding of gay and lesbian organisations.
- A film series featuring the work of exiled Chilean director Raul Ruiz was held here May 21 to 28, sponsored by the Committee for Indigenous Resistance in Latin America and Medical Aid for El Salvador.
MELBOURNE — About 200 people rallied on May 28 outside the Exhibition Buildings against a two-day conference being held by supporters of US right-wing sect leader Lyndon La Rouche. The group is notorious for anti-Semitism, homophobia and violent attacks on its political opponents in the US.
- About 400 people attended a dinner on May 22 to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the foundation of Fretilin. Agio Pereira, a representative of the East Timor Relief Association, told the audience that the road to independence for East Timor was very difficult, in part because successive Australian governments have been "accessories to Indonesian aggression".
- A group of young women held a "Speakout for Choice" in the Bourke Street Mall on May 28, organised by Resistance as part of the international day of action against illegal Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights in Amsterdam.
- Protesters from the East Gippsland Forest Network dumped a pile of woodchips outside the office door of Victorian resource minister Geoff Coleman on May 27 to highlight Coleman's push to continue woodchipping in old growth forests in East Gippsland. Coleman has refused to discuss with numerous conservation groups ramifications of government policies.
NEWCASTLE — The Environmental Youth Alliance will host an "Anti-Traffic Jam" public transport festival on June 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Community Arts Centre, Parry St, Hamilton.
PERTH — Meat workers walked off the job at the Robb Jetty abattoir on May 27. The state government has already announced its decision to close the abattoir in June 1994, costing 200 jobs. After a return to work on May 28, a joint shop stewards meeting of public sector unions on May 29 was to discuss further action.
- 400 workers from the Midland Workshops occupied Westrails Administrative Centre in East Perth on May 28 to demand release of the document being used to justify the workshops' closure. Commissioner of railways Jim Gill refused to accede to the workers' demand but after the lifts and stairwells were stormed, he did address the workers.
- More than 600 state government sector shop stewards and delegates on May 29 voted for a 24-hour stoppage to be held on June 17. The motion included a call to all TLC affiliates to support the action. The day is to be marked by a rally in Forrest Place at 12 noon, followed by a march on Parliament House.
WOLLONGONG — The Wollongong Abortion Rights Coalition (WARC) held a picket at the office of State Labor MP Ian McManus on May 27 to mark International Reproductive Rights Day. Last year McManus had informed WARC that he thought "the current legislation was adequate". As a result of the picket, McManus told the media that he "supported the woman's right to choose" and that he would do all he could to repeal the abortion laws.
- The radical youth organisation Resistance has re-established a branch here after a three-year absence. A launch was held on May 23 attended by Wollongong Resistance members, two Resistance members from Sydney and Jorge Jorquera, the Resistance national organiser.
- Wollongong's inaugural Young Women's Festival was held over the weekend of May 21-22 , in the premises of the new Wollongong Youth Centre. The festival was initiated by young women involved in the provision of services such as the Women's Centre and Community Health for Adolescents in Need (CHAIN). About 250 young and older women were entertained by cabaret, theatre and music, all performed by young women.
Should a brief report on your group's activities be included in the next issue of Green Left? Just ring the information in: Adelaide 231 6982. Brisbane 358 . Hobart 346 397. Melbourne 329 1277. Newcastle 265 328. Perth 227 7367. Sydney 690 1977. Wollongong 297 932.