Campaign Against Racism debates strategy
By Shane Bentley
SYDNEY — Around 60 people attended the July 29 Campaign against Racism (CAR) organising meeting held at Trades Hall. The main issue discussed was how to respond to any Hanson or One Nation meetings that might take place in Sydney.
While nearly all present stated the need for organising demonstrations outside the venue of any Hanson meetings, the character of such a rally was intensely debated. A motion that included the proposal that the purpose of the rally should not be to close the meeting down, which is the existing policy of CAR, was discussed for more than an hour.
An amendment to delete this proposal from the motion, strongly supported by the large contingent of International Socialist Organisation members present, was narrowly defeated.
Then, when the motion itself was put, it was also defeated because supporters of the amendment voted against the motion as a whole.
In the end, the meeting passed a motion to organise a rally outside One Nation meetings, leaving the character of the rally unspecified.
The meeting agreed to organise two demonstrations around the theme "No to Hanson and Howard's racism". The first will take place on August 30 in the Manly Amphitheatre (near the One Nation national office), the second on October 18 in the Parramatta Mall.
The demands for both rallies include no racist discrimination against migrants, defend Native Title and no to refugee detention and deportation.