Rally marks Hiroshima Day

BRISBANE — Two-hundred people gathered in King George Square on August 6 to mark the anniversary of the US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The rally was followed by a candlelight procession on the theme “Lighting a flame for nuclear disarmament”.

Ciaron O’Reilly, long-time anti-war activist and member of Catholic Worker, spoke against the US-led war in Iraq and the Australian government’s support for the ongoing US war drive. O’Reilly currently faces serious charges in Ireland for disarming a US war plane at Shannon airport, Dublin.

Damien Le Goullon denounced the Indonesian government’s oppression of the people of West Papua and Denis Doherty from the Anti-Bases Coalition announced plans to form an anti-bases coalition in Queensland, in opposition to the proposed US base at Shoalwater Bay.

Demonstrations took place in other cities around the country, including a “Hiroshima never again” rally attended by 100 people in Sydney.

Bill Mason

Women’s collective to be abolished

BRISBANE — The women’s collective at Griffith University will be abolished under changes to the constitution proposed by the Labor-Right-dominated Student Representative Council (SRC). The changes will be decided by an internet-based referendum.

If passed, the new constitution will replace the women’s and environment collectives with a new Equity Committee, consisting of a disability officer, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander officer, a queer officer, and an overseas students officer. It will also include a male and a female equity officer, replacing the women’s collective.

The Equity Committee will only receive 5% of the SRC budget, and each officer will be allocated just 5% of that amount. The autonomy currently enjoyed by collectives will be removed, as they will have to seek approval from the entire committee for any funding requests.

Domenic Natoli

From Green Left Weekly, August 11, 2004.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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