No GST on Tomatoes! say Tasmanians

By Sean Pybus and Natasha Simons

HOBART -- When Liberal leader John Hewson visited Salamanca Markets on Saturday, February 20, he didn't expect to be pelted with fruit and vegetables.

Hewson was confronted by more than 100 angry protesters. Stall-holders, farmers, Department of Construction workers and others joined the combined protest by the Wilderness Society, Resistance, the Democrats, the Gay and Lesbian Rights Group.

Protesters booed and heckled Hewson as he made his way between the stalls to “meet the people”. The crowd swarmed around him chanting “No GST!”, “No Youth Slave Wage”, “Gay Rights!”, “Stop Woodchipping Now!”. One Department of Construction worker confronted Hewson with the cry: “You don't represent ordinary Australians, you represent Ferrari owners”. A stall-holder joined with the statement, “I'm proud to be part of the ratbag society”.

Hewson looked ill at ease, and Liberal supporters were definitely outnumbered. And he didn't appear all that convinced as his minders told him, “You're a winner, Hewson!”

Teresa Dowding, a Resistance member and Democratic Socialist candidate for the seat of Denison, asked Hewson to sign a petition against youth unemployment. He looked rather worried and replied, “I can't read that now; I'll take a copy with me” as he rushed off, dodging more tomatoes.

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