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In Copenhagen, Sydney-based climate justice advocate Natasha Verco, as well as US activist Noah Weiss, faces charges under Denmark’s “terrorism” laws. Verco faces up to 12-and-a-half year jail for her role in organising protests against the United Nations Copemnhagen climate summit in December.
“The free, sovereign and independent homeland of our dreams will only come true if we radicalise the process and speed up the transition to socialism”, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wrote in his March 14 weekly column “Chavez Lines”.
Federico Fuentes and Kiraz Janicke concluded their ten-day tour of Canada on March 7, with a rally in Vancouver entitled “Change the System, Not the Climate.” Fuentes shared the platform with Pablo Solon, Bolivia’s UN ambassador and chief spokesperson on climate change.
CAIRNS — Three Queensland doctors published a letter in the international medical journal The Lancet on March 6, highlighting the difficulties women in the state face accessing medical and surgical abortions.
Aboriginal services workers and community members from across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions held a “community issues workshop” on March 17.
Commonwealth By Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri Harvard University Press, $64.95, (hb)
BRISBANE — Despite the postponement of US President Barack Obama's visit to Australia until June, a rally protesting against his government's war policies took place on March 19, the seventh anniversary of the US-led allied invasion of Iraq.
Thinking Outside The Square: A Retrospective (Photographs 1972-2010) By Elaine Pelot-Syron South Sydney Uniting Church 56a Raglan Street Waterloo March 14 until May 20 Tues-Thu, 4.30-6pm; Sun, 9am-noon
On March 16, Yarra City Council amended the racist Local Law 8, which bans drinking in public places. The law was originally passed on October 20 with the ALP, Greens and independent councillors voting for it. Socialist Party councillor Stephen Jolly was the only councillor to oppose the law.
Three hundred climate activists participated in Australia’s second national Climate Action Summit in Canberra on March 13-15, marking an important step forward for the grassroots climate movement in this country.
Victorian police have been rocked by allegations of racism, physical abuse and harassment of young Africans in inner-urban Melbourne.
For the 2009 climate summit, I wrote a short article titled “Looking back — moving forward: ten lessons for the climate movement”. It attempted to articulate some of the challenges and opportunities for the community climate movement after two years of rapid growth in scope and capacity.