'400 and still dancing'
ADELAIDE — Supporters of Green Left Weekly celebrated the 400th issue of the paper on April 8 with a cocktail and dance party at the Resistance Centre. "400 and Still Dancing" raised funds for the Green Left Weekly fighting fund.
Democratic Socialist Party activist John McGill, in a fiery toast, emphasised that "it is activists who make a paper like Green Left Weekly possible".
Telstra workers rally
BRISBANE — Fifty Community and Public Sector Union and Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union members staged a lunchtime picket on April 13 outside Telstra's Eagle Street office, in protest at proposed job cuts and full privatisation. The protest was organised by Members First, a group of activists within the CPSU.
The demonstrators were critical of their unions' leaders and of the Labor Party which, they argued, have failed to stop the previous rounds of privatisation and the loss of 25,000 jobs.
Aboriginal reconciliation discussed
BRISBANE — "The day of reconciliation will be the first day of every Australian's tomorrow", Aboriginal writer and community leader Sam Watson told a Politics in the Pub meeting in New Farm here on April 10. The meeting was sponsored by the New Farm Neighbourhood Centre and the Community Action Network.
Watson condemned the federal government for adopting the policies of Hansonism, exploiting racism and dividing the community along ethnic lines. He called for real change as the only basis for genuine reconciliation.
Other speakers included Bill Lowah, a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, and Kevin Smith from the Aboriginal Legal Service. Smith condemned mandatory sentencing laws and said Queensland's police, courts and the parole system were racist in their treatment of Aboriginal people.
Long walk for land rights
Aborigines and other supporters of land rights are planning a walk from Lake Eyre, in northern South Australia, to Sydney to coincide with the Olympic Games.
The walk will begin on June 10 and arrive in Sydney in September. It will be led by Arabunna Elder Kevin Buzzacott and will pass through Marree, Copley, Nepabunna, Beverley, Lake Frome, Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Moree, and Dubbo.
The Keepers of Lake Eyre explained that the historic walk "is a journey for peace, freedom and healing of the land and its peoples. We walk for the sovereign rights of Aboriginal peoples to our lands and our culture. We are walking in honour and respect for our ancient rights and law-ways, for freedom and our obligation as carers for our country. All peoples are welcome to come and join the walk, to share this experience."
For more information, write to Kevin Buzzacott at PO Box 28, Marree, SA, 5733. Phone 0417 838 906, or email Keepers of Lake Eyre at <lakeeyre@microsuxx.com> or <wagtail@picknowl.com.au>.