Hundreds of activists from across Western Australia greeted delegates to the Labor conference, in Fremantle on November 8, with demands to end fracking and the AUKUS submarine deal and to condemn Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Anti-fracking protesters stood in a silent vigil alongside Traditional Owners from 7am, holding the bright yellow Frack Free WA placards and haunting images of the beautiful Kimberley bush.
Their focus was a vote to ban fracking across the state. Frack Free protesters — who have been campaigning for at least a decade — felt silence was the way to reach delegates.
Community groups under the Stop AUKUS banner rallied to get “defence” out of school curriculums, ensure safe jobs and say no nuclear submarines or waste.
Rally organiser Leonie Lundy said the themes are connected: “AUKUS threatens our defence sovereignty and puts us and our environment at risk.”
Josh Last, schoolteacher and Socialist Alliance member, told the crowd about weapons companies’ interference in educational programs. Barry Healy, of Red Spark, spoke about the myth of military deterrence, and that AUKUS is heating up the nuclear arms race and gearing Australia up for war.
Mia Pepper, from Nuclear Free WA, spoke about the dangers of nuclear waste for the environment and population, and about the likely effects of an AUKUS deal on jobs and housing.
Petrina Harley, an activist with Disrupt Burrup Hub and Socialist Alliance, said the “two greatest existential threats today are nuclear war and global warming”. She said Labor is “complicit” in not trying to mitigate the “human and environmental damage from war and climate change”.
“Aside from the horrendous loss of life in Gaza, the estimated long-term climate cost of destroying and then rebuilding Gaza will generate 30 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.”
Boorloo’s Voices for Climate choir sang and a giant Roger Cook puppet made an appearance.
As the rally was dispersing, police emerged from the hotel lobby and aggressively told people to leave, before issuing move-on notices. Harley and Last were among those detained, with Harley reporting the police were unnecessarily aggressive, particularly as she was on crutches.
Protesters would have felt a sense of pride, however, as delegates voted to ban fracking in WA, handing the ball to Labor turn this historic people-powered victory into law.
Simone van Hatton, from Frack Free WA and Lock the Gate, said protesters would “power on” with the campaign, with activists heading out the next day to door-knock key electorates to display their support.