Free Palestine Rally

Photographs from Sunday’s Free Palestine rally on Gadigal Land, Sydney, ‘Australia’, part of a national day of action.

Organisers say attendance numbers were around 100,000 people, equalling numbers in Melbourne, Naarm. 50,000 turned up in Brisbane, Megandjin, as well as tens of thousands elsewhere in other capital cities and towns around the country.

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Sorry Business - Vale Paul Coe

Photographs of sorry business for Wiradjuri warrior, life-time activist and advocate, barrister, father, brother, grandfather and uncle, Paul Coe, who was remembered and celebrated at Erambie, Cowra, Wiradjuri Land last Thursday.

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Free Palestine Rally

Photographs of Sunday’s Free Palestine rally on Gadigal Land, Sydney, ‘Australia’.

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The Next Generation: NAIDOC Takeover at The Red Rattler

Photographs from The Next Generation: NAIDOC Takeover at The Red Rattler, held last month on the 12 of July, celebrating up and coming young Aboriginal talent.

The evening was hosted by Lizzy Jarrett and featured performances by Walan Miimi, Bowra Boy, Wiradjuri, Gudgenburra & Gumbaynggirr youth dancers, and Knxyy, a Gadigal-based rapper and producer.

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March For Humanity

Last Sunday, despite objections from the NSW Premier, Chris Minns and police, a sea of humanity swept across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, on Gadigal and Cammeraygal Lands, Sydney, Australia, demonstrating resounding support for Palestine, as death and starvation continues to spread across Gaza.

Estimates were that between 100,000 and 500,000 attended the historic rally, although experts settled on around 300,000. It was one of the largest - if not the largest - protest marches in Australia’s history. The massive crowd looked like a true reflection of the city’s residents - one that is rarely portrayed - people from all walks of life, ages and backgrounds, from all over Sydney, united in the cause to demand a halt to the siege of Gaza.

Despite driving rain, the mood was determined, but also overwhelming joyous, as the marchers, buoyed by the numbers, soon understood the historic nature of the momentous occasion. At one point, police blocked the northern side of the bridge and turned the crowd around - citing safety concerns, forcing people to march back over to the southern side. For some this meant a second rare opportunity to traverse the harbour from above, to stop and dance in the middle of the bridge in a celebration of resistance against a government that said, ‘no’.

The March of Humanity was organised by the Palestine Action Group, Sydney.

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Freedom Before Peace Fundraiser

Photographs from last night’s concert fundraiser, ‘Freedom Before Peace’, in support of The Dhadjowa Foundation, an organisation established to provide strategic, coordinated and culturally appropriate support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families whose loved ones have died in custody.

The night was held at the Landsdowne Hotel on Gadigal Land, and featured Barkaa, Kobie Dee, Tasman Keith, Wire MC, Rox Lavi, Riah, Tillow and Reggie Brown. Jason Munro Jnr made an acknowledgement of country and recognised the passing of Wiradjuri warrior, Paul Coe.

The night was curated by Tasman Keith.

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Free Palestine Rally

Photographs from this weekend’s Free Palestine rally on Gadigal Land, Sydney, Australia.

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Converge On Canberra - Day 3

Photographs from Tuesday, the final day of the three-day ‘Converge on Canberra’ mass protests against Israel’s siege of Gaza.

After two days of disruptive action across Canberra, on Ngunnawal Land, around 1,000 people gathered in front of Parliament House, on the opening day of the Parliamentary term, to listen to speeches from a range of Palestinian, Aboriginal and Jewish speakers. Independent senator, Fatima Payman and Greens senator, Mehreen Faruqi, also spoke.

A woman symbolically burned her Israeli passport in support of Gazans.

Despite Federal police cordoning off the rally to an isolated precinct, protesters broke police lines to storm the front of Parliament House. One was arrested outside, while 17 others were detained after holding a protest inside the Parliament House cafe.

As a result of the disruption, Parliament had to cancel its 19-cannon salute that usually marks the first day of the Parliamentary term. It was a powerful symbolic action, where the guns were literally silenced.

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Converge On Canberra

On Sunday, thousands of people from around the country descended on Canberra, Ngunnawal Land, to protest against the war on Gaza in what was dubbed ‘Converge on Canberra’. The mass gathering will last over 3 days until the official opening of the new Parliamentary term on Tuesday.

People travelled from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and as far away as Western Australia. Amongst the protesters included several contingents of First Nations people and anti-Zionist and anti-war Jews.

Speeches were made outside Parliament House before the rally marched to the embassies of the United States of America and Israel, where it was met by a handful of pro-Israeli and Zionist counter-protesters.

The march then circled back to Parliament House, where the day was concluded with a evening vigil.

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Memorial Assembly And March For Victims of Deaths In Police Custody

Today, a small but passionate group turned up to Sydney Town Hall, Gadigal Land, to hold a memorial for those who have been killed by police in custody during welfare checks.

Family and friends of those who have been killed called for alternative approaches to mental health incidents, demanding that health professionals conduct such checks, rather than police. Some speakers also called for wide-ranging police reforms, including the banning of police guns and community policing approaches.

Today’s memorial was held just days after Waterloo public housing resident, Colin Burling, was killed during an apparent welfare check by police and two years after Jesse Deacon was killed in similar circumstances.

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Free Palestine Rally

Photographs from Sunday’s Free Palestine rally on Gadigal Land, Sydney, Australia.

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Palestine Protest at SEC Plating

Last night, around 200 pro-Palestinian protestors gathered out the front of SEC Plating Pty Ltd in Belmore, south-west Sydney, Dharug Land, to protest against what they say is the manufacturing of parts for F-35 jets, which are the aircraft involved in the current bombing of Gaza by Israeli forces.

Speakers also spoke out against the actions of NSW police, who were involved in an altercation with former Greens candidate for Grayndler, Hannah Thomas, at another protest at the same site last week. As a result of the incident, Thomas is at risk of losing an eye. Charges against the former Greens candidate have been widely criticised by civil liberties groups and have now been dropped. Lawyers are looking into whether the police should be sued for these actions. There are claims that police falsely invoked draconian anti-protest laws during last week’s protest.

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King Stingray at AGNSW for NAIDOC

Photos from King Stingray’s NAIDOC performance at the Art Gallery of NSW on Gadigal Land.

Supported by Keanu Nelson and Alice Sky.

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Public Housing Rally

Photographs from today’s rally in Glebe, on Gadigal and Wangal Lands, to demand a halt to the selling off of public housing by the NSW State government.

The rally began at Minogue Reserve before moving to Glebe Markets where speeches were made. The protest then moved to 82 Wentworth Street, where public housing is currently being demolished, despite the buildings being fit for residential living and in the face of the current housing crisis.

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Free Palestine Rally

Photos from Sunday’s Free Palestine rally on Gadigal Land.

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Free Palestine Rally - Iran is Bombed by the USA

Photographs from Sunday’s Free Palestine rally on Gadigal Land, Sydney, Australia. The rally took place just hours after the USA bombed Iran.

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Rally Against Anti-Protest Laws in NSW

Around 100 anti-war, environmental and social justice advocates turned out this morning at the Supreme Court of NSW, on Gadigal Land, to attend a press conference and rally against the extension of draconian anti-protest laws in NSW. The legislation was rammed through parliament by the Minns State Labor government on the back of dubious claims about a so-called “anti-semitic” “terrorist” incident earlier this year, after explosives were found in an abandoned caravan in Dural. This incident now seems to be a bungled organised crime deal gone wrong. There are questions about who in the government and police knew about this and when, and what role these events had on implementing the anti-protest legislation..

The Palestine Action Group (Sydney) are challenging these laws in the Supreme Court, arguing they are unconstitutional as they threaten the right to protest and are based on false, race-based allegations. The new laws open up the possibility for police to shutdown or ban protests near places of worship. With the number of churches and other places of worship scattered throughout Sydney’s CBD, that would potentially preclude most protest movement around Australia’s biggest city. Premier Minns is refusing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the Dural caravan ‘hoax’, which was the catalyst for these laws.

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Protest Against Maersk Shipping

Photographs from last night’s rally outside 44 Market Street, the headquarters of Maersk Shipping in Sydney, Australia, Gadigal Land.

Protesters called on Maesrk to end the shipping of arms to Israel. Despite denials, the company voted down a ban on weapons shipments to Israel in March earlier this year, further raising suspicions about their activities in the Middle East.

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48-Hour Hunger Strike for Gaza

This morning marked the end of a 48-hour hunger strike to bring attention to the starvation which is unfolding across Gaza. Five people went on hunger strike from Monday in cold and wet conditions at Sydney Town Hall, Gadigal Land, Sydney, Australia.

The UN’s World Health Organization now says that the daily food intake has fallen well below ‘survival’ level in Gaza because of the blockade of aid by Israeli forces. This means that the entire population - around 2.1 million people - are at risk of starvation, including children, women and men.

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Rally For Kumanjayi White

Photographs from last Saturday’s rally for Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White, who was killed when an off-duty police employee pinned him to the ground in a Coles supermarket in Mparntwe, Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

Saturday’s rally was held at Sydney Town Hall, Gadigal Land, before marching to the NSW Police Centre in Surry Hills. The protest was part of a National Day of Action in capital cities and major regional centres across Australia.

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