A week before the Queensland election more than 500 people rallied against premier Campbell Newman and the Liberal National Party on January 24.
Speakers included Indigenous activist Sam Watson, Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union Peter Simpson, Debbie Kilroy from Sisters Inside, Drew Hutton from Lock The Gate Alliance and Greens candidate Jonathan Sri.
The corruption of the LNP government and its attacks on civil liberties were recurring themes of the rally. The lack of an Upper House in the Queensland parliament has enabled the LNP to ram through laws restricting the rights of workers and citizens and allowing environmentally damaging planning decisions to go unchecked.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters said political donations, secrecy and cronyism "have poisoned Queensland's democracy".
Greens candidate for South Brisbane Jonathan Siri said: "We need a complete ban on political donations from for-profit companies," he said.
"As long as we have politicians who are taking donations from for-profit companies they will not be making impartial decisions.”
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