Almost 20 years after its last attempt, American fast food giant McDonald’s has again set its eyes on the quaint communities of the Dandenong Ranges.
Determined to ensure the ranges do not miss out on its heavenly presence, this time McDonald’s hopes to establish a new fast food outlet in the village of Tecoma. It is even promising to remain open 24/7 for those desperate to fix their nightly Chicken McNugget cravings.
Australia
A huge crowd of about 650 people attended a memorial service at the Elder Hall, University of Adelaide on September 9 to farewell Elliott Johnston, the only communist to become a judge in Australia. He died on 25 August, aged 93.
Those paying tribute included representatives from the legal profession, trade unions, the Aboriginal community, the original Communist Party of Australia (CPA) and his son Stewart.
About 50 people attended a vigil on the parliament lawns in Hobart on September 16 in support of Ali Alishah, a jailed anti-pulp mill protester.
Alishah was arrested on September 5 at Gunns' proposed pulp mill site in the Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania after locking on to a truck that was entering the site. He has already spent almost two weeks in jail and will likely stay in custody until September 26.
A long-term forest campaigner, Alishah was taking action with the group Code Green, which has been conducting civil disobedience actions at the pulp mill site.
Australia’s ability to remain a signatory to the UN refugee convention would be put in serious doubt if the government succeeded in weakening protection for refugees in the migration act, prominent human rights lawyer Julian Burnside QC told Green Left Weekly.
“The judgement was clear that the arrangement that had been made with Malaysia has been made legally invalid,” he said.
“The question is whether the government thinks having signed the convention limits the range within they can change the act.
Queensland Murri leader Sam Watson called for a new royal commission into Black deaths in custody at a rally outside state parliament on September 15. “Enough is enough. We need urgent action to end Aboriginal deaths in police watchhouses and prisons,” he said.
He announced a national day of action on Aboriginal deaths in custody on November 19, preceded by a series of actions, including a day of commemoration for John Pat, the Aboriginal youth murdered in custody in Roebourne, WA, in October 1985.
Employees at the Department of Human Services (DHS) voted to reject an enterprise agreement proposed by management, which would have covered 42,000 staff. Seventy three percent of those who took part in the ballot voted “no”.
More than 120,000 public servants from agencies such as defence, customs and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry have now rejected inadequate agreements. Industrial action has occurred in some places.
A motion condemning anti-apartheid protests targeting the Max Brenner chain of chocolate and coffee shops was passed by the Australian Senate on September 13.
The motion was moved by Queensland Nationals Senator Ron Boswell and supported by all parties except for the Greens.
Another motion, from Liberal Senator Eric Abetz, “condemning the Australian Greens and their leader for failing to condemn the vile boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel” was defeated.
Right-wing independent federal MP Bob Katter is famously on record as saying he would “walk backwards to Bourke” if a gay community could be found living in his north Queensland electorate.
A 70-strong protest for equal marriage rights outside Katter’s Mt Isa electorate office on September 11 showed that he does indeed have gay constituents. However, the MP has not made good his promise.
Grassroot activist group Code Green Tasmania released the statement below on September 15 to mark a protest outside forest company Gunns’ Launceston office that day.
The previous day, Tasmanian premier Lara Giddings announced her government would give Gunns $23 million in return for the company agreeing to end the logging of native forests.
Giddings also said she had cancelled Gunns’ $25 million debt to the state-owned Forestry Tasmania.
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Forty protesters today staged a peaceful protest at Gunns Ltd’s Lindsay St office.
The Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) released the statement below on September 13.
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The Refugee Action Collective condemns Labor’s plan to try and change the Migration Act to make the Malaysian “solution” lawful in the wake of the High Court victory.
We reiterate our demand to end all offshore processing. Asylum seekers should be processed on the mainland, in the community.
The Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network released the statement below on September 13.
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A detention centre worker has contacted the Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network (DASSAN) and indicated that a SERCO security guard was in tears as a result of a directive from the Department of Immigration following a hunger strike and rooftop protest at the Northern Immigration Detention Centre (NIDC) in Darwin.
An Afghan Hazara has been on the roof of South 1 compound for two days and has been on a hunger strike for a number of days before that.
Gillard’s refugee policy breaches ALP platform, say dissidents
Labor for Refugees (NSW) released the statement below on September 12.
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Labor for Refugees (NSW) condemns the policy announced today by the Prime Minister that legislation will be pursued to overcome the High Court's rejection of the Malaysia deal.
Labor for Refugees (NSW) calls on the Gillard government to comply with the unambiguous provisions of the ALP National Party Platform.
Ms Gillard was one of many national delegates who voted unanimously in favour of the ALP National Platform in 2009.
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