More than 100 people participated in a blockade of the Ferra Engineering factory in Magan-djin/Brisbane on April 15 as part of an global聽聽against genocidal Israel.
Actions were organised in more than 50 cities around the world, including 19 separate actions in Australia. The aim was to disrupt weapons manufacturers and to highlight Western complicity in Israel's genocide.
Ferra Engineering produce more than . Critically, weapons adapters for F-35 fighters all come from Ferra Engineering.
鈥淣o other company in the world makes [these weapons adapters],鈥 Jacqui told the action.
The weapons adapters are the mechanism that allow bombs to be attached to and to be dropped from the planes.
Jacqui also highlighted that Ferra Engineering has received extensive support from state and federal governments for its military production.
鈥淔erra would not be capable of producing and exporting weapons like this if not for the extensive support from the federal government,鈥 she said.
Abbie Hayden told 91自拍论坛 that the April 15 action is part of an ongoing 鈥淪hut Down Ferra鈥 campaign. 鈥淚n January, 30 people stormed into the Ferra factory and were able to disable some of the machines. That caused severe financial damage to Ferra.鈥
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In addition, activists have been picketing the factory every few weeks and held an action at Queensland parliament to highlight the government's financing of Ferra's war聽production.
The campaign managed to stop work for the day, for the first time. 鈥淣o deliveries have been able to come in or out,鈥 Hayden said.
Palestinian activist Remah Naji, Greens parliamentarian Max Chandler-Mather聽and First Nations activist Sam Woripa Watson spoke at聽the blockade.
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Watson told the crowd that they would be sending an Aboriginal flag that they'd taken to every Palestine rally in Magan-djin/Brisbane to be part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, that is attempting to break the blockade of Gaza.
Pro-Palestine activists occupied Penny Wong's office in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide as part of the A15聽actions. Protestors staged a .
Protesters said Wong and the Labor government are聽complicit in the genocide聽in Palestine by聽refusing聽to cancel weapons contracts.聽The International Court of Justice called for weapons transfers to Israel to be suspended.
Other protests were held in Naarm/Melbourne, Boorloo/Perth, Gadigal/Sydney and Djilang/Geelong.
Thales, Elbit Systems, Currawong Engineering were among the targets on聽A15, alongside universities such as聽Deakin and the University of Melbourne, which聽collaborate with weapons companies.
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Sue Bull from Free Palestine Geelong, who MCed聽the protest outside Deakin University, said universities' research and development聽resources should not be turned over to weapons companies,聽like BAE, to then be used in a genocide against聽Palestinians.
In Boorloo/Perth, protesters held a die-in outside the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) which partners with the Israeli ZIM shipping. The MSC closed its offices for the day.
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At least 23 people were arrested around the country, according to an A15 media release. 鈥淪everal protesters from different actions testified that they had witnessed police using excessive force,鈥 it聽said.
Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam told a Naarm/Melbourne action outside Elbit Systems that politicians鈥 and protesters鈥 actions today will be 鈥渏udged by history鈥.
鈥淲hat we do, how we respond matters,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his movement for peace is important, thank you for being part of it.鈥
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