Brisbane

A powerful art exhibition took place in Brisbane over October 15-23, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the SIEV-X tragedy on October 19, 2001, in which 353 asylum seekers, including 146 children, drowned when their fishing boat sank between Indonesia and Australia.

The exhibition featured the works of Melbourne-based artist Kate Durham, under the title, "SIEV-X — and some were saved". It included a supporting exhibition of paintings by artists from refugee communities who came to Australia by boat, titled “Floating”.

Occupations in Sydney and Melbourne have been violently broken up by police in the past few days, but the Occupy Brisbane camp at Post Office Square is going well so far. At this stage, there is no sign of police or Brisbane City Council harassment.

A general assembly of the camp was held at noon on October 23. About 100 people attended.

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Occupy Perth general assembly prepares for action

More than 600 people rallied and marched in Brisbane’s CBD on October 16, as part of a national day of action to “Defend our water from coal and coal seam gas”. The rally in Queens Park was sponsored by the Lock and Gate Alliance and Defend Our Water Queensland.

Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Drew Hutton told the rally: “We live in the driest country on earth. To allow the mining industry to pollute our water and destroy our best farming land is a disgrace.

“Why is the Labor government allowing the mining companies to ruin our state? And the Liberal-National Party are no better.”

About 200 people attended a rally and march in Brisbane Square on October 15 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the sinking of the refugee boat SIEV-X, with the loss of 353 lives — 146 of whom where children.

The then-Howard government and Australian navy knew of this disaster but allowed these asylum seekers, fleeing war and persecution, to die.

Speakers at the rally included former Democrats Senator and now Greens member Andrew Bartlett, an Iraqi refugee now settled in this country, and human rights lawyer Julian Burnside.

The people of Brisbane have many reasons to join the global occupy movement. Living costs are rising, while the state government is bent on privatising the state’s public services and has endorsed the expansion of the destructive and unwanted coal seam gas industry.

In line with the international day of action for real democracy on October 15, the “99%” in Brisbane will meet at Post Office square in the city at 9am. Protesters plan to occupy for as long as is necessary.

About 2000 health and education workers rallied outside state parliament on October 13 as part of their campaign for improved pay and working conditions. State school teacher aides and Queensland health workers angrily protested together, outraged at the state government's wage offer of only 2.5% a year over three years — less than inflation.

The teacher aides were also demanding increased working hours. They have faced cuts in hours in recent years. Their union, United Voice, wants a government guarantee that the aides could work for up to 35 hours a week.

Fay Waddington, a long-time activist in the Palestine solidarity movement in Brisbane, held a free give-away of “Mohammed Brenner chocolates” to passersby in Boundary Street, West End, on September 24.

Waddington and other supporters have held a regular weekly Palestine solidarity stall there every Saturday morning for several years, ever since the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006.

Waddington, a Socialist Alliance member, issued a statement to Green Left Weekly, describing the action as “a Chaser-inspired take on the Max Brenner brouhaha” in Australia over recent months.

Liberal students at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have run a bogus ticket under the name “Green Left” in the QUT Student Guild elections, held over September 20 to 23.

The two main tickets in the election were Epic, backed by the Liberals, and Activate, backed by the Labor students and the left on campus.

“For the good of both peoples, the Separation Wall must come down, the Israeli control over the lives of Palestinians must be defied so that a secular democracy where all Israelis and Palestinians live as equals can be established in our shared homeland," says Miko Peled, Israeli writer and peace activist.

Peled gave a public lecture, sponsored by the Queensland Council of Unions, under the theme, "Moving towards a democracy in Israel/Palestine," at the TLC building here on September 23.

“The future of the education struggle in Chile is uncertain, but we are very hopeful of the outcome," University of Chile academic Dr Leonora Reyes told a September 15 forum at the Queensland University of Technology. "But for sure, after this cycle of student upsurge, our country will not return to the past.”

The forum was sponsored by Australian Solidarity with Latin America (ASLA), the National Tertiary Education Union (University of Queensland) and the QUT Student Guild and was chaired by Socialist Alternative's Rebecca Barrigos.