ABC staff to fight
SYDNEY — Amid fears of commercialisation of the national broadcaster, members of the ABC section of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) will stop work on September 6 to discuss campaign strategies to defend the organisation from attacks from "the enemy within".
New ABC managing director Jonathon Shier has led a radical "reform" of the higher management structures to rid the organisation of the "old guard" (opponents of commercialisation). As part of Shier's restructuring, ABC Online has been directed to undertake "appropriate e-commerce initiatives".
On September 1, more than 65 CPSU delegates crammed into the lecturette in the ABC Ultimo complex and discussed reigniting a Save the ABC campaign, organising open staff campaign committees at an office level (described as "war rooms") and other campaigning strategies.
McDonald's picketed
CANBERRA — Despite an excessive police presence, 25 protesters gathered outside the James Court McDonald's outlet on September 1 to protest against the corporate crimes of one of the most hated members of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The protest was organised by Canberra S11 Alliance to publicise the campaign against corporate tyranny before the September 11 protests against the WEF in Melbourne.
The protesters condemned the low wages paid to McDonald's workers. Julie George pointed out that the hourly wage of $4.90 is not even enough to buy a "Big Mac meal".
East Timor solidarity
DARWIN — A meeting here on August 30 marked the first anniversary of the referendum on East Timor's independence. Fifty people was entertained by passionately delivered Indonesian reformasi poetry, a screening of the Showdown in Seattle video, videos from Actively Radical TV of events in East Timor and Indonesia and speakers.
The event was organised by Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) as part of the Darwin Fringe Festival.
Rob Milne from ASIET, who was a volunteer observer at the referendum, spoke of the significance of anniversary, but stressed the enormous effort and international solidarity still needed to rebuild East Timor. Sebastio, an East Timorese student, said that the struggle of the Timorese people was greatly aided by solidarity from people all over the world.
GE-free Bondi
SYDNEY — On August 27, a coalition of groups including GeneEthics Sydney, the Greens, Friends of the Earth, the Democratic Socialist Party and a number organic food retailers came together to launch the "GE-free Bondi" campaign. Around 150 people attended.
The intention with the campaign is to encourage shop owners to indicate that they sell GE-free food. Already a local fish shop and some organic food shops display GE-free signs.
NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon launched a kit produced by the Greens for activists to use to convince their local councils support GE-free campaigns. A number of people from the Blue Mountains plan to follow Bondi's lead.
For information on the GE-free Bondi campaign or about the Greens kit, contact GeneEthics Sydney at <geneethicssydney@hotmail.com> or (02) 9810 2323 or the NSW Greens at <greensnsw@nsw.greens.org.au>.
Anti-racism campaigning
LISMORE — Forty people attended a Resistance public meeting at Southern Cross University on August 29 to hear visiting Indigenous Students Network and Democratic Socialist Party activist Kim Bullimore talk about the indigenous rights protests planned for Sydney on September 15, the opening day of the Olympic Games.
She explained that the protests are a reflection of the radicalism developing in the indigenous movement in response to the politics of reconciliation. The protests are not against the Olympic Games themselves, Bullimore said, but will use them to focus the world's attention on the government's appalling record of racism and human rights abuses. Until this is addressed, reconciliation will remain a racist call on black Australians to reconcile themselves to second-class status, she said.
Local indigenous student activist Star Moarywalla-Barker spoke about how the Australian government's racism defied both international law and the rulings of Australian courts.