High school students take action against nuclear tests
In the week leading up to the third underground nuclear test exploded on October 28 at Moruroa atoll, high school students across Australia were busy organising actions to show their opposition, not only to the French government's test program, but also to the Keating government's refusal to stop mining and selling uranium. Heidi Pegrem reports from
Sydney that approximately 2000 high school students from as far away as Campbelltown and the Blue Mountains walked out of classes on October 25 to demonstrate against nuclear testing and Australia's mining and export of uranium. The walkout and rally was organised by Resistance and the Secondary Students' Anti-Nuclear Network (SSANN) as part of a national week of action by high school students. There were, actually, two walkouts on the day. At the first, at 9.30am, 500 students rallied in Pitt Street Mall and marched to the French consulate. The second, slightly larger, walkout and rally followed the same path after a number of hours of activity in the mall. A lively and colourful contingent from Macdonald College of Performing Arts burst into the mall early in the day and unified the already sizeable crowd with angry chants of "Stop the Bomb!" and "Long Live the Fish!". About 100 students from Sydney Girls High marched all the way from their school chanting and waving placards during the busy city lunch hour. Other schools participating in the day of action included Newtown High, Riverside High, Ashfield Boys, Penrith High, Fort St High, Burwood Girls, Burwood Boys, Nepean High, Concord High, Granville Boys, Cromer High, St Mary's Cathedral College, Sydney Boys, Hurlstone Agriculture High, Strathfield Girls, Homebush Boys, Ingleburn High, Glebe High, Hunters' Hill High, Beverly Hills Girls, Turramurra High, Malvina High, Vaucluse High, Balmain High, Loreto Kirribilli, Macarthur Girls, Blaxland High, St Pauls College Manly, Pennant Hills High, Blacktown Girls, St George Girls High, Marrickville High and Cheltenham Girls. In between the two marches, students painted a giant postcard to Prime Minister Paul Keating which demanded an end to uranium mining and staged a huge "die-in". An open speakers' platform operated for most of the day. Students read poems, did raps, led chants and spoke passionately against the injustice in today's society. Katie Hepworth, from SSANN, condemned the Australian government's policy on uranium mining and emphasised the importance of independence in the Pacific for achieving a nuclear-free world. Paul Howes, a Resistance member from Blaxland High, pointed out the huge amount of resources wasted on the arms industry. Later Max Lane, from the East Timor November 12 committee, invited to speak about the Free East Timor campaign, was cheered enthusiastically by the crowd. Two students were detained by police for painting anti-nuke slogans on the path outside the French consulate. When this was announced to the rally the police came under fire for their actions and the students were eventually released. Students vowed to continue their action. Edda, from Leichhardt High moved a motion to walkout on the day of the next nuclear test. It was unanimously accepted. Some school administrations attempted to stop students from attending the rally. The entrance to Burwood Boys was blockaded by teachers but some students braved threats of suspension and broke through the blockade. Some students had to scale school gates to get to the rally. At one school, prefects were forced to talk to classes about not going to the rally. Some of the prefects had photocopied and distributed walkout leaflets and were threatened with having their badges taken away. But at least half still walked out. Television news showed the gates at Bethlehem Girls in Ashfield being locked to keep students in. The day after the rally, 27 students from this school were suspended. While principals and teachers at different schools took different attitudes to the walkout, it was announced at the rally that the Teachers Federation supported the action. Jenny Hollander reports from
Canberra that 1000 students took part in a walkout and 250 rallied in Garema Place on October 25. Tim Lisle-Williams, a year nine student and Resistance member, spoke about the hysterical red-scare campaign by Queensland politicians and media in response to the 4000-strong September 8 secondary students' anti-nuclear rally in Brisbane, organised by Resistance. (A second walkout in Brisbane, on October 13, nevertheless drew 300 students.) Chairing the rally on behalf of Students Against Nuclear Testing (SANT) and Resistance, Dean O'Keeffe said the movement had succeeded so far in forcing the French government to halve the number of tests. "This is a big victory which we should be proud of", he said, "but it still isn't good enough and we must continue the fight". Kerryn Williams from Resistance argued that independence for the Pacific would ensure no more French nuclear tests. She went on to condemn Australia's own imperialist role in the Pacific and urged people to get involved in the upcoming actions on East Timor. From
Melbourne, Ryan Batchelor reports that an October 27 rally called by the Anti-Nuclear Secondary Students (ANSS) and Resistance attracted 150 high school students. The students marched from the GPO to the offices of Western Mining, Australia's largest exporter of uranium to France. At the rally ANSS spokesperson Eliza Miscox highlighted the concerns of high school students about French nuclear testing, Australian uranium mining, and the colonisation of the Pacific. Resistance speaker Jo Brown pointed to the endemic militarism of capitalism and Amile Douglas, a student from Sandringham Secondary College, gave a "dramatic lament for Mother Earth". In
Perth, the Secondary Students' Anti-Nuclear Coalition (SSANC) and Resistance held a speakout on October 25. After the speakout, about 30 protesters marched through the city mall and staged a "die in".