May Day was celebrated in Adelaide on Saturday May 5 with a march through the city streets.
A sizable Left Unity block marched down together from the Adelaide Activist Centre. They marched under a Left Unity banner, but also carried individual banners representing the participating groups.
The Left Unity contingent included Socialist Alliance, Resistance, the Communist Party of Australia (CPA), the Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies) Adelaide branch, along with other independent members of the left.
One of the strengths of this year's May Day march was the strong youth contingent, which included a large number of Resistance members and other youth activists. The youth contingent led chants and gave the march a vibrancy it has lacked in past years.
Along with the regular union contingents, it was great to see some new groups taking part in this year’s May Day. These included the Repower Port Augusta Alliance and the South Australian Feminist Collective, which marched behind a banner that read “'Women's Work: Underpaid and Unpaid”. The collective collected hundreds of signatures for its abortion rights petition.
Bob Briton, a highly respected left activist in Adelaide and a member of the CPA and Left Unity, addressed the rally at the start of the march. Western Saharan union activist, Malak Amidane, addressed the rally as it gathered later at the Torrens Parade Grounds. She spoke about the courageous struggle of her people against ongoing occupation by Morocco.
Slideshow by Gemma Weedall