Two anti-war organisations orgnanised a protest outside Business Illawarra’s Defence Industry Conference at the Shellharbour Civic Centre on March 1.
Wollongong Friends of Palestine, which has led rallies for Palestine in the mall for the past 20 weeks, and Wollongong Against War and Nukes (WAWAN), which formed to stop a nuclear submarine military base being built at Port Kembla, were the organisers.
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones addressed the conference of defence and security companies.
Protestors highlighted the links between local businesses and the war on Palestine, in which 30,000 people have been killed so far.
WAWAN spokesperson Luke Hocking told the rally: “We utterly reject their plan to make the Illawarra a hub for the war industry. At a time when Palestinians are being bombed and killed in huge numbers, we demand an end to the militarisation of our city and for local government and industry to cut ties with the Israeli Defence Force.”