Melbourne

Birthday party for three-year-old detainee

Seventy refugee supporters held a birthday party for a young girl outside the State Library on May 12. They ate birthday cake and sang "happy birthday".

But three-year-old Kopika was unable to attend. She was kept behind razor wire in the Broadmeadows detention centre, along with her parents and sister.

Hundreds turn out for anti-racism protest

Hundreds of people attended a rally in Melbourne's CBD on February 4 to protest racist media coverage and treatment at the hands of the police and politicians.

The protest was organised by Sudanese activists in the wake of comments made by federal and state Coalition politicians about a supposed “African youth crime wave”.

Community closures rally

Huge rallies against WA community closures

Thousands of people took to the streets of Melbourne and Sydney on April 10 to protest against the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities.

International Women's Day Melbourne 2015

Photos: Melbourne celebrates International Women's Day

About 400 people turned out to celebrate International Women's Day in Melbourne on March 8.

Campaign against East West Link will not stop

Days before the Victorian elections on November 29, the Labor opposition promised to scrap the East West Link, a massive road project in Melbourne with an estimated cost of $18 billion. On the back of a large community campaign to stop the project, this position helped Labor win the election. The history of the campaign to stop the tunnel provides lessons on how the community can successfully beat the power of corporations and governments.

Melbourne protests Gaza bombing: 'No place is safe'

About 1000 people rallied in Melbourne on July 12 to protest against Israel's attack on Gaza. Samah Sabawi, a playwright, poet, political analyst and human rights advocate originally from Gaza, gave the speech below to the rally. In May, attempts were made by Zionists to prevent Sabawi speaking at a public forum on Israel and Palestine. ***

‘Save lives; protect refugees’

“Stop trampling rights to win votes”; “Stop breaking laws to win votes”; “Stop racist policy risking lives” and “Stop the freeze on asylum seekers' rights” were key slogans at a rally organised by Amnesty International and other human rights organisations on May 8, as part of a national day of action. The 300 protesters heard from Chaman Shah Nasiri, a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan who had suffered in the now-closed Nauru detention camp under previous Coalition prime minister John Howard's Pacific Solution policy.