ADELAIDE — Streets were filled with the sound of honking horns at 4:30pm on May 4 as drivers supported the Resistance "Honk for East Timor" which linked up with the activists from the No Fees Tent City. With Resistance placards demanding that the ALP federal government "Fund Education Not Indonesian Dictators", drivers could honk their support for both issues.
BRISBANE — Resistance called an action at Queen Street Mall at 5.30pm on May 5 in support of trade union leader Dita Sari and the 21 people arrested by the Indonesian military on May 1 for involvement in demonstrations demanding an increased minimum wage of US $3.50 a day. Speakers included Resistance, Aksi and Democratic Socialist Party representatives.
HOBART — About 50 people gathered at Parliament House on May 2 to protest against the continuation of the Heemskirk link road through the Tarkine wilderness. Banners read "Tarkine road = woodchipping" and "Tarkine for World Heritage". The protesters occupied the Parliament House car park to force returning politicians to run a gauntlet of shouted slogans and thrown woodchips. The protest was joined by Tasmanian Aboriginal activists with a banner of the Aboriginal flag and the slogan "Lest you forget".
MELBOURNE — A GLAD (Gays and Lesbians Against Discrimination) rally of 300 on April 29 protested against the Victorian government's proposed changes to the Equal Opportunity Act. The words "lawful sexual activity" and not "lawful sexual orientation or sexuality" are to be used in the act. GLAD warned of the discrimination which could result from having the act based on sexual activity, rather than a person's identity as a homosexual. The law will allow employers to discriminate against "homosexuals" in areas dealing with children. Another rally is planned for June 14.
PERTH — More than 60 people attended a Friends of East Timor education day on April 30. Topics of the talks and workshops included Australia's complicity in Indonesia's annexation of East Timor and the current situation there. Dr George Aditjondro, an Indonesian academic, also spoke. Discussion closed with a plenary with questions and suggestions for further action in solidarity with East Timor.
- Ninety people, including trade unionists, solidarity activists and environmentalists, enjoyed a three-course Middle Eastern meal at Green Left Weekly's May Day dinner on April 29. Jeana Vithoulkas, recently returned from the COSATU Congress in South Africa, emphasised the importance of internationalism. Bill Game, secretary of the Australian Electronics, Foundry and Engineering Union, spoke of the labour movement's role in building an alternative to the Labor Party. The final speaker, Ignatius Kim from the Democratic Socialist Party, paid tribute to the legacy of the Vietnamese revolution. The evening closed with the African-influenced music of Sundiata Marimba.