BY WESLEY MORGAN
LISMORE — A lively crowd of 150 spoke out against corporate globalisation and marched through the streets here on April 28. The action was the first May Day celebration to be held in the region.
It was a colourful protest, with rainbow flags and socialist banners, and marchers chanted "Human need not corporate greed". The march paused for "anti-corporate ad breaks" at the Westpac and Commonwealth banks and the local AMP building.
Speakers included Bernie Wunsch from the Lismore M1 Alliance, Boyd Kellner from the NSW Public Service Association, Tim Thorncraft from the North East Forest Alliance, university lecturer and environmental activist Aiden Ricketts, Ruth Rosenhek from the Rainforest Information Centre, Nick Fredman from the Democratic Socialist Party, Wesley Morgan from Resistance, Bianca Bright and Nicki Sullings from the Southern Cross University Women's Collective, Graham Dunstan from the Nimbin Hemp Embassy and Jeremy Bradley from the Greens.
The crowd heard about a range of issues, from solidarity with Indonesian workers and the corporate logging of the NSW north coast, to talks on the growing "incarceration industry" and the degrading effect of corporate globalisation on women.
All of the speakers were opposed to neo-liberal economic policies and encouraged people to join the anti-corporate struggle. People from the rally signed up for the bus to take them to the M1 protests in Brisbane.