Trans Day of Resistance 2023

Yesterday, around 200 people turned up at Pride Square in Newtown, Gadigal Land, for the annual Trans Day of Resistance, calling for greater Trans rights and the swift passing of gender self-ID laws in NSW Parliament.

Welcome to Country was performed by Graham Simms. Speakers included MC Jamie Bridge, Barbie Ganoush, Erin from the NSW Greens, Liz Duck-Chong from the Australian Services Union, Ethan Lyons from the Wiradjuri nation, Paddy Gibson and Wei Thai-Haynes.

After speeches, the crowd marched from Pride Square, down King Street, to Victoria Park.

The action was organised by Pride in Protest and the National Union of Students Queer/LGBTQiA+ Department.

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School Strike For Palestine

Yesterday, on the eve of the 4 day ceasefire and prisoner swap in Gaza, several hundreds of school children rallied at Sydney Town Hall on Gadigal Land, to demand for peace in Palestine.

Speakers included, MC Eva, First Nations university student Ethan Floyd, Palestinian high school student Noura, Greens Senator Dr. Mehreen Faruqi, anti-Zionist Jewish student Rex, and students Jaseena al-Helo and Shovan Bhattarai.

A provocateur holding an Israeli flag was forcibly removed by police for breach of peace, while another was later also moved on.

After speeches, the rally marched through the CBD and back to Town Hall.

The protest was organised by School Strike for Palestine.

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Free Palestine Rally - Week 6

On Sunday, for the sixth consecutive week, tens of thousands of people rallied in Hyde Park, Sydney, Gadigal Land, to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Speakers included Assala Sayara, Aunty Shirley Lomas, Meriki Onus, Dalia Al-Haj Qasem, Omar Al-Ouf, Josh Lees, 12-year old, Jayda Shadid and Amal Naser.

Palestinian authorities say that more than 13,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel invaded six weeks ago. Talk of a hostage deal with Hamas in exchange for some kind of military pause on the Israeli side have been reported, but it has yet to materialise.

Sunday’s demonstration was organised by the Palestinian Action Group.

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Bring Joy Back Home

Photographs from last Saturday’s gathering at the corner of Yurong and Stanley Streets, East Sydney, to promote the petition to reinstall Loui May’s statue of ‘Joy’ - a tribute to sex workers - after it was vandalised and eventually removed in 2000. The statue currently resides in storage at Macquarie University.

The artwork is distinguished by being the first statue of a sex worker in the world.

Last Saturday’s event was MC’d by Julie Bates, founding member of the Bring Joy Back Campaign Committee; the statue’s sculptor, Loui May (Fraser); Labor Councillor at the City of Sydney, Linda Scott - who is submitting the petition to Council; Chantelle Martin, outgoing SWOP (Sex Worker Outreach Program) manager; and Eurydice Aaroney, also from the Bring Joy Back Campaign Committee. Amongst supporters present on the day were historian, Catherine Freyne and Professor Basil Donovan, who has been instrumental in sex work law reform.

The petition aims to bronze the original statue and redeploy it at its original East Sydney site. It requires at least 400 signatures and is due to be put to Council this coming Monday.

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Whistleblower David McBride Pleads Guilty

Whistleblower and former Australian military lawyer, David McBride, today pled guilty on charges of leaking secret military information, after key aspects of his defence were thrown out of the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra, Ngunnawal land.

McBride’s defence relied on arguing that his military oath to the Queen to serve the interests of the nation and its people justified his passing on classified documents about the over-investigation of Australian combat incidents to three journalists. Ultimately this information led to an ABC report on alleged Australian war crimes in Afganistan. Instead, the Supreme Court today ruled that McBride’s over-riding duty was to follow army orders, rather than act in the interests of the public.

In 2020, the conclusion of the Brereton inquiry into war crimes committed by the ADF, found that there was credible evidence that 39 Afghan civilians had indeed been unlawfully killed by Australian Special Forces.

A group of supporters at today's court hearing demanded that the charges against McBride be dropped and that the legal protections for whistleblowers in Australia be strengthened.

David McBride will be sentenced early next year.

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Visit to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Photos of a quick drop in to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra, Kambri, Ngunnawal land.

Included is a visit by Evare Gari, Acting Chief Conservator at the Papua New Guinean National Museum and Art Gallery. Mr. Gari was welcomed to the Embassy by Nioka Coe Craigie, Daniel, and camp dogs Tank and Rufus.

Established in 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is the longest continually running protest site in the world.

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Free Palestine Rally

Tens of thousands of people turned out last Sunday at Hyde Park, Gadigal Land, to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Israeli troops continue their full scale ground and air assault across the southern Occupied Palestinian Territory,

Speakers condemned Israel, the international community and Australian politicians for not moving to bring the war to an immediate end. Speakers included MCs Assala Sayara and Josh Lee from the Palestinian Action Group, Sally Asfour from Palestinian Christians in Australia, Greens senator, Mehreen Faruqi and author Randa Abdel-Fattah. Welcome to Country was performed by Dharug man, Uncle Colin.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed since the invasion of Gaza, with more than 4,000 of those children. That toll represents an equivalent to one out of every 200 Gazans killed to date in the last month. Around 200 hostages are still being held by Hamas after its raid into Israel last month which saw around 1,200 Israelis killed. This situation follows years of increasing tension and repression across Gaza and the West Bank.

The rally moved from Hyde Park through the CBD and then back to Hyde Park. Similar sized rallies have been held every weekend for the last five weeks. Organisers have vowed to continue protesting in coming weeks.

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Truth Telling Circle: Palestine to West Papua

A small group of people gathered at Sydney Town Hall, Gadigal country, on Wednesday, to share personal stories of Palestine and West Papua and the impact of colonisation, war and violence on their respective people.

The gathering was organised by peace activists, Wage Peace.

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Rock For Land Rights

Photographs from Saturday’s ‘Rock for Land Rights’ concert at Parramatta Park, celebrating 40 years since the passing of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act through State Parliament.

The event was head-lined by Thelma Plum, with support from Nooky, Roger Knox, The Stiff Gins, Microwave Jenny and Muggera. MCs for the day were John Paul Janke and Bo de la Cruz.

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Pro-Israeli Rally

Around 3,000 people turned up at Martin Place, Gadigal Country, on Sunday, demanding the release of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas on the 7th of October, which also saw around 1.400 Israelis killed.

The march took place as Israel launched a ground invasion into Gaza - part of a three-week campaign which has claimed over 8,000 Palestinian lives.

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Extinction Rebellion Zombie Walk

Last Sunday’s zombie walk by Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Wage Peace, which danced and stumbled their way through Sydney’s streets on Gadigal country to the sounds of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, bringing attention to the climate crisis.

Extinction Rebellion Sydney is demanding no new fossil fuel projects or funding in line with IPCC recommendations, an end to native forest logging and the immediate protection of biodiversity

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Massive Crowds turn up for the 'Free Palestine' Rally

Photographs of Sunday’s ‘Free Palestine’ rally where tens of thousands of Palestinian supporters marched from Hyde Park to Belmore Park on Gadigal country, calling for an immediate ceasefire to the Israeli ground invasion and aerial bombardment currently taking place across Gaza.

At least 8,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children, since Hamas launched an attack into Israel on the 7th of October, after months of increasing violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

More children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force in the last 3 weeks than the total of number of children killed in all armed conflicts around the world in the whole of 2022.

The International Criminal Court has “active investigations ongoing” into events both in Gaza and Israel.

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Gadigal To Gaza Panel Session

Photographs from last night’s panel discussion about the current situation in Gaza and the similarities between the devastating effects of colonialism across so-called Australia and in Palestine.

Panel speakers included Elizabeth Jarrett, Rand Khatib, Meriki Onus, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Ethan Lyons and Lana Tatour. The event was held at the Red Rattler in Marrickville and was convened by the Blak Caucus and the Autonomous Collective Against Racism.

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Stop The Genocide In Palestine Rally

Over 20,000 people marched through Sydney, on Gadigal country, today, in support of Palestine, as Israeli troops gather on the border to Gaza, in what is expected to be a full-scale ground assault.

A recurring theme of some of the day’s speeches was the similarities of Aboriginal experiences of colonisation in Australia with the experiences of the Palestinians in their own homeland under Israeli rule.

The rally marched from Sydney Town Hall to Belmore Park with a heavy police presence.

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The Voice Referendum - Polling Day in Darwin, Larrakia Country

The Voice Referendum Campaign Publicity in Sydney

Past documentation of ‘The Voice’ Referendum campaign publicity on the streets across inner Sydney, Redfern and Western Sydney, taken prior to the ballot date.

There was far more ‘Yes’ campaign material visible than ‘No’ material, particularly in inner Sydney, which was perhaps a reflection of both strategy and budget levels. In western and south-western Sydney, there was barely any street publicity for leading up to the Referendum.

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Pro-Palestine Rally Marches to Sydney Opera House

Several hundred pro-Palestinian supporters marched on Gadigal country, from Sydney Town Hall to the Sydney Opera House on Monday evening.

The snap rally was organised as renewed conflict broke out near the Gaza Strip last weekend, when over 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in what the militant group, Hamas, has termed, ‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’. Some have termed the killings as a massacre.

The action has come after years of increasingly repressive measures taken against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories by the Israeli government, which has swung even further to the far-right in recent times under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Violence and murders by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank have been on the rise, with a rate of around three attacks on Palestinians every day since the start of 2023.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is, of today, preparing for a full-scale ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, where shelling and airstrikes have seen the death toll already rising past 1,000 people. Water, power and food supplies have been cut off in a seige of Gaza that could last months. The world is bracing for many more Palestinian deaths over coming days and weeks. The United Nations envoy to Palestine has called the Israeli campaign as “nothing less than genocidal”.

This has all occurred in the midst of significant geo-political posturing, which has heightened tensions across the region.

Monday’s march on the Sydney Opera House was sparked by a decision of the NSW State Government to project the colours of the Israeli flag on the sails of the Opera House, a decision that some saw as one-sided and provocative. Organisers of the rally declared that they were disappointed by the actions of a small group of demonstrators who burned the Israeli flag and let off flares, saying they did not represent the large bulk of Palestinian supporters in attendance.

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The Voice Referendum: Yarning Circle - Yes or No What is Next?

A full house filled The Red Rattler in Marrickville on Sunday to hear and discuss some alternative views on the upcoming ‘Voice’ referendum from an all-Blak panel that included Lidia Thorpe, Lynda-June Coe, Amanda Morgan, Ethan Lyon and Erin O’Leary. A Welcome to Country was performed by Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor. M.C. for the day was Elizabeth Jarrett.

While the panelists advocated a variety of positions on the referendum - No, Yes, Abstain and Informal - there was a general consensus that the process, institutions and organisations behind the official Yes and No campaigns are deeply problematic and were not to be trusted. The panel agreed that whatever the outcome of the referendum, the struggle for First Nations rights would need to continue into the future if real change and justice is to be realised.

A central discussion point of the day was the profound psychological, emotional and physical harm currently being endured by First Nations people as a result of the referendum process.

The referendum goes to a vote on October 14th, 2023.

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The Voice Referendum: No Rally Against 'The Voice'

Today, several hundred people turned up to Hyde Park for an unofficial ‘No’ rally against the upcoming ‘Voice’ referendum, due to be held on the 14th of October 2023. The rally was one of a series of so-called ‘Freedom’ rallies around the country, organised by local Putin-sympathiser, Simeon Boikov, who is currently holed up in the Russian Embassy.

Besides No campaigners, the crowd was also filled with a range of conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxers, nationalists and amalgam of people pushing right-wing causes. Neo-Nazis reportedly marched at the corresponding march in Melbourne. The official No campaign had not endorsed the event and had warned people from attending.

Speakers included Liberal Democrat, John Ruddick MLC, former MP Ross Cameron, One Nation's Tania Mihailuk MLC and former United Australia Party MP Craig Kelly. Budjiti/Murrawari men Bruce Shillingsworth Senior and his son, Bruce Shillingsworth Junior also spoke, alongside a handful of other Aboriginal people who travelled to Sydney for the event.

At the end of the rally, a small break away group confronted the organisers, claiming the event had been hijacked by politicians, and that they had not been allowed to speak.

The numbers at today’s No rally paled in comparison to the tens of thousands that turned up to the Yes campaign rally last week. Nevertheless, polls show the No campaign ahead and are predicting the referendum will fail.

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Gulgi-Barra at the Murama Dance Ground

Photographs of yesterday’s performances as part of the Murama Indigenous Youth Summit at the Murama Dance Ground, near Silverwater, Sydney, on Wangal country.

The event was headlined with a performance of ‘Gulgi-Barra’ (‘Sand People’) by the Gimuy-based (Cairns) group, Miriki Performing Arts, along with the Dabul Dancers (Yarrabah), the NRL Cowboy House Ensemble and the Kingdom Voices.

Also performing were Jarara, the St. Canice School choir and Uyghur musician, Shohrat Tursan, who was accompanied by Gurridyula Gaba Wunggu on yiddaki (didgeridoo). Gurridyula also spoke of his two-year long fight against the Adani Carmichael coal mine, which sits on his traditional lands in Central Queensland.

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