Palm Sunday
ADELAIDE — On February 12, the Palm Sunday Peace Walk Committee met for the first time to discuss the themes and course of the event. The committee will meet at the Pilgrim Church at 12 Flinders Street each Monday at 7pm, until Palm Sunday. This is the first Palm Sunday Peace Walk after a several year lapse. Representatives from Resistance, Australian Peace Committee, Campaign Against Land Mines, and two Christian youth groups attended the first meeting. Other groups and individuals are welcome to attend.
HEMP announces Senate campaign
BRISBANE — HEMP (Help End Marijuana Prohibition) held a rally and book burning in the Queen Street mall on February 14 to protest the confiscation and censorship of books under hemp prohibition. Under the Queensland Drugs Misuse Act, several books with information about hemp have been banned and confiscated. HEMP activists Tony Kneipp and John Free-Marijuana announced their Senate election campaign on a platform of decriminalisation of hemp. Both have been long-term activists in the struggle against prohibition and gained 4% of the primary vote in the last state elections.
Tomago Sandbeds campaign
NEWCASTLE — A public meeting organised by the Tomago Sandbeds Action Group at Williamstown on February 10 was addressed by a number of speakers, and a lively discussion with the audience followed. Speakers included Anthony Too from the action group; Bob Horne, ALP MP for Paterson; Daryl Dawson, councillor with the Port Stephens Council; and Tim Robinson, barrister for the Tomago campaign. The meeting passed four resolutions including the demand that no further clearing of native vegetation or dredging take place until after further investigations.
Guatemala film night
PERTH — The Committees in Solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean (CISLAC) organised a Guatemala video night on February 10 at the Resistance Centre to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). Around 40 people from different political backgrounds watched the video
Impunity 93, which shows that the military is still the real power in Guatemala. Participants had the opportunity to listen to and discuss with a member of URNG.
Socialists demand rights for youth
BRISBANE — "Neither the Labor nor Liberal parties take youth rights seriously", Zanny Begg, Democratic Socialist candidate for the seat of Brisbane, said on February 16. She was launching a call by the socialist youth organisation Resistance for a speak-out for youth rights in the Queen Street Mall on Friday, February 23 at 4.30pm. The rally calls for action to: create jobs for young people at real wages; raise Austudy and the dole to the poverty line; no more police powers; decriminalise hemp; and lower the voting age to 16. Following the youth speak-out, there will be a progressive candidates' rally, called by independent candidate for Brisbane, Bob Leach, in support of a "statement of solidarity" against the conservative policies of the two major parties.
Public sector campaign
ADELAIDE — On February 7, Community and Public Sector Union and Public Sector Association work site representatives endorsed proposals for a 15% wages campaign, fully funded without loss of jobs or conditions. In November, workers in the state public sector accepted the Liberal government's pay offer of $35 over two years, attached to enterprise bargaining. Workers in many agencies have been struggling to find the "productivity savings" necessary to develop enterprise agreements.