New DSP branch warms up for Olympic protests
BY DANIEL JARDINESYDNEY â Given mainstream media hype seeking to convince Sydneysiders that the Olympics would be a golden time for everyone, a forum on Why the Olympics won't benefit Sydney, held in Bondi Junction here on June 14, proved an appropriate way to launch the new Eastern Sydney branch of the Democratic Socialist Party.
The DSP's Marina Carman told the 30 people gathered that nearby Bondi Beach was proof of how false Olympics promises were proving: the Olympic volleyball stadium, currently under construction, has had a devastating impact on Sydney's most famous beach.
Carman also pointed to other adverse social and environmental impact: rent increases, growing homelessness, expanded police powers, cuts to social spending while millions are poured into Olympics construction, and environmental problems surrounding numerous Olympics venues.
Trevor Close, organiser of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Injustice and Cultural Expo during the Olympics, spoke of the protests being planned during the opening ceremony on September 15 and of a tent city to be set up in Bicentennial Park next to the Olympics site. He issued an open invitation to supporters of indigenous people's rights to support the protests.
Dominic Kanak from Bondi Olympic Watch and Joel Bray from the Indigenous Students Network endorsed protests in the lead up to and during the Olympics.
Attendees were enthusiastic about the new DSP branch and plans were laid for a warm-up Olympics protest in the eastern suburbs during August.