ADELAIDE — Close to 500 people marched from Parliament House to Victoria Square on May 27 to mark the 25th anniversary of the vote for Aboriginal "citizenship" in Australia. Union speaker John Hartley summed up the feeling of the day when he said, "We've had 25 years of formal equality and 204 years of oppression. It's not bitterness we need but a united campaign for our rights."
BRISBANE — More than 100 people marched here on May 30 to commemorate the International Day of Action for Women's Health. The march, organised by the Women's Abortion Campaign, started at King George Square, with speakers Margie Ripper, prominent Brisbane journalist Susan Hocking and WAC speaker Anna McCormack. Entertainment was provided by local women's singing group Clara and the Zetkins. The protesters marched to Parliament House, where they hung coat-hangers on the fence in commemoration of the women who die each year from illegal abortions.
MELBOURNE — Environmental Youth Alliance activists attracted a lot of attention on May 30 when they celebrated an international day of action around North-South solidarity. Colourful and enthusiastic street theatre was held in the city mall, where the EYA stall joined up members, received donations and publicised World Environment Day. People leaving a nearby anti-fur demonstration listened to a speaker from Aksi talking about the environmental destruction on the Indonesian island of Siberut.
- To show international unity on World Environment Day, in Melbourne the Environmental Youth Alliance has organised a rally and a festival on June 6. The theme will be "One People, One Planet, One Struggle". The rally will meet in the city square at 11 a.m. and hear speakers including an EYA high school student activist, a representative of Western Suburbs Hazardous Materials Action Group, an East Timorese, a Koori and a Latin American solidarity speaker. It will then march to the Treasury Gardens for a festival and a picnic.