Naarm/Melbourne

The ALP has narrowly held on to the Victorian seat of Melbourne despite a swing to the Greens in the July 21 by-election. Greens candidate Cathy Oke won the highest primary vote, getting 36.5% to ALP candidate Jennifer Kanis’ 33.4%. But distribution of preferences gave the ALP 52% and the Greens 48%. The Greens’ vote increased by 4.6%. The Liberals did not run in the election, although a Liberal Party member running as an independent won 4.7% of the primary vote.

Activists in Melbourne have won a big victory for the right to political protest after the charges against the Max Brenner 16 were dismissed on July 23. The court trial lasted for 17 days in May. The 16 Palestine solidarity activists had been arrested and charged over a protest outside the Max Brenner chocolate shop in QV Square, Melbourne in July last year. The protest was part of the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel and the occupation of Palestine.

Activists celebrated a major victory for the right to demonstrate in Melbourne on July 23 after a magistrate dismissed charges against the Max Brenner 19. On July 1 last year, 19 Palestine solidarity activists were arrested at a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions protest outside a Max Brenner chocolate shop in Melbourne’s QV Square shopping centre. The protest called on Max Brenner to end its ties with the Israeli military.

Two hundred people rallied in Melbourne on July 18 to protest against plans to sell public housing to private owners and call for an increase in public housing. Greens MP Adam Bandt told the rally: “The state government will soon decide on the future of Melbourne’s public housing. We don’t know exactly what they have planned, but they want to increase rents and make access short term for people using it.” In Melbourne, about 7000 people are living on the streets. There are now 3000 people on the public housing waiting list.

Striking Coles warehouse workers in Somerton, Melbourne, held a community rally at their picket line on July 15.

Activistrights.org.au was developed by the Fitzroy Legal Service as a resource for activists. Ela Orgu, the Community Development Officer at Fitzroy Legal Service said the “website aims to provide legal information for activists. It provides legal context, lots of legal information and also places to go to for support depending on what is happening and a range of case studies as well. “Activism is crucial in society. It’s an important way to keep leaders and systems and organisations in check.

Coles warehouse workers met two days into an indefinite strike on July 12 and voted unanimously to reject the latest offer from their direct employer Toll Logistics. Hundreds had gathered on a picket line to prevent trucks entering the site. Striking workers outside the warehouse, which owner Coles outsources to Toll, told Green Left Weekly that the offer wasn’t really “new”, but was only tweaked slightly from the old offer.

MELBOURNE — Supporters of the Coles warehouse workers on strike for equal pay across the company's sites held a protest at Coles' Footscray outlet on July 14. They called on shoppers to boycott Coles until it met the workers' demands

The indefinite strike by Coles warehouse workers in Somerton, Melbourne, began with a few hundred people on the picket lines from 6am on July 10. At the time of writing, no trucks have been allowed in or out of the site. Coles outsources the operation of the warehouse to Toll Logistics. Coles and Toll had expected industrial action, but they hadn’t expected that the workers would vote for an indefinite strike.

With impeccable smiling customer service staff motioning to myki readers and swarms of grinning, armed, uniformed officers pursuing passengers for a chat, the Victorian Liberal government hopes to win support for its public transport agenda. Public Transport Victoria stopped selling weekly, monthly and yearly Metcards on July 2. More than 80% of Metcard machines have been removed from train stations. The expensive and unpopular myki system will soon take over.

In the first construction worker rally in years, up to 10,000 workers marched through Melbourne on July 4, telling the state government to dump its new building code. Premier Ted Baillieu’s Coalition government began to implement its Code of Practice for the Building and Construction Industry on July 1. Unions say the new code is all about attacking unions. Building companies that fail to comply with the code on any site will be thrown off the government tender list.

National Aboriginal & Islander Day March (Melbourne, July 6, 2012). More than 600 people from all over Victoria marched to celebrate NAIDOC week.