91��̳ - Chris Peterson

Big turn out for NAIDOC march

Chris Peterson — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 10:45:00 +1000

Thousands took part in the annual NAIDOC march for land rights and justice for First Nations. Chris Peterson and Chloe DS reports

Activists lock on to save greater glider habitat

Chris Peterson — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 11:00:00 +1100

Activists are fighting to stop logging in a Victorian government-promised National Park in Western Victoria. Chris Peterson reports.

Turkey must leave Kurdistan

Chris Peterson — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 10:00:00 +1000

Protesters took to the streets on July 3 to support an international initiative to defend Kurdistan against Turkish occupation. Chris Peterson reports.

Wheelchair users take action for access to trams

Chloe DS — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 15:00:00 +1000

Trains have been made accessible for wheelchair users, but trams have not. Chloe DS and Chris Peterson report on the campaign to rectify this.

Medevac refugees on hunger strike have been hospitalised

Chris Peterson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 10:45:00 +1000

Chris Petersen and Chloe DS report that 14 refugees have been on hunger strike for more than a week in protest at their imprisonment.

Call to unite against racism

Chris Peterson — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 16:00:00 +1100

About 300 people rallied against racism in Melbourne on November 10. The rally was organised in response to the continued vilification of Melbourne’s African community by politicians and the media.

Silica is the new asbestos says Victorian Trades Hall

Chris Peterson — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 15:00:00 +1000

“Crystalline silica is the new asbestos, but Australians are simply not aware of the dangers involved in working with such a common substance as compressed stone,” Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) secretary Luke Hilikari said at the release of the new silica dust standard in late August.

There has been a significant rise in the number of workers suffering silicosis and lung cancers caused by inhaling silica particles while manufacturing, cutting and installing compressed stone benchtops.

Despite visa ban, Manning delivers message of hope

Chris Peterson — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 13:45:00 +1000

Banned from entering Australia by the federal government, former United States intelligence analyst turned whistleblower Chelsea Manning instead delivered her message of hope to audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane via video link.

The Australian immigration department denied Manning a visa on the basis of failing “the character test”, citing as grounds the time she spent in jail for leaking documents that exposed US war crimes in Iraq.

Residents demand action over suspicious toxic fire

Chris Peterson — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 12:45:00 +1000

The toxic chemical blaze which started in a West Footscray factory, in Melbourne's west, on August 30, and took firefighters 17 hours to bring under control, has provoked such widespread anger that the state government has been forced to intervene.

Anti-racists outnumber neo-Nazis at Melbourne rally

Chris Peterson — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 10:00:00 +1000

The neo-Nazi True Blue Crew held their second "Australian Pride" rally in Melbourne on June 25 and were met with an "anti-racist/anti-fascist" counter protest by No Room For Racism and Campaign Against Racism and Fascism.

There were about 150–200 fascists and about 200–300 anti-racists. Several hundred police, including from the Public Order Response Team, kept the two sides apart.

Five people were treated by Ambulance Victoria after police pepper-sprayed the anti-racists in Russell St after the main rally had broken up.

Melbourne protesters say: ‘Bring them here’

Chris Peterson — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +1000

About 150 people joined an emergency protest in Melbourne on April 17 telling the government to bring the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru to Australia.

The protest came after sailors from the Papua New Guinea navy fired shots into the detention centre and locals attacked refugees.

No to Centrelink Robo-Debts

Chris Peterson — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 11:00:00 +1100

About 200 people rallied in Melbourne on January 31 against the Turnbull Government's new practice of sending computer-generated debt notices to people who have received or are receiving Centrelink payments.

Up to 90% of these debt notices are false. Many people have received debt notices demanding they repay thousands of dollars that they dispute owing. Centrelink staff have been instructed not to fix any obvious errors unless the person complains.

Angela Davis: ‘The refugee movement is the civil rights movement of our time’

Lalitha Chelliah — Sat, 29 Oct 2016 11:00:00 +1100

Long-term US activist Angela Davis addressed an overflowing lecture theatre at Melbourne University on October 24.

In a wide-ranging lecture and discussion, Davis looked at the criminalisation and incarceration of communities most affected by poverty and racial discrimination.

Davis drew upon her own experiences in the 1970s, when she spent 18 months on trial after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List”.

Forum: Making Melbourne a Hanson free zone

Chris Peterson — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +1000

About 70 people attended a forum on September 27 in Melbourne on Making Melbourne a Hanson free zone. The forum was hosted by the Victorian Trades Hall Council.

Guardian Australia columnist Jeff Sparrow spoke at the forum. He said: "Billions of dollars have been spent on fighting Islam by the Government so recent polls on racism are no surprise. There is a real danger that Hanson could become the new normal, a right wing version of the Greens."

City of Melbourne council workers strike

Chris Peterson — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +1000

Council workers at the City of Melbourne went on strike for two hours from 3.30 pm on September 27 and rallied outside Melbourne Town Hall. The rally was followed by a protest march along Swanson Street from Bourke to Flinders streets.

The workers are demanding a new agreement with better pay and conditions. City of Melbourne is the richest capital city in Australia.

Rally against privatisation of disability services

Chris Peterson — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 11:00:00 +1100

Hundreds of disability workers rallied in Melbourne on December 14 against attempts to privatise the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Victoria.

Disability services are not for sale

Chris Peterson — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +1100

The Victorian government has turned its back on a major commitment to not contract out disability services to the private sector. The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) has been left feeling “absolutely betrayed” by the Daniel Andrews’ government’s decision to break an election promise that declared, “Disability is not for sale”. News of this proposal was not so much announced, as discovered in the closing paragraph of an unrelated document.

Rally to save MV Portland

Chris Peterson — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +1100

About 300 unionists rallied on January 27 outside the Melbourne Liberal Party headquarters to demand an investigation into Alcoa's actions after the American-based company forcibly replaced Australian seafarers with foreign workers. A simultaneous rally in Sydney attracted about 100 workers.

Crew forced off Alcoa ship MV Portland

Chris Peterson — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +1100

Five crew members aboard Alcoa ship the MV Portland were woken at 1am on January 13 by up to 30 security guards, handed their passports and forcibly removed from the vessel. The guards then escorted aboard a replacement crew, believed to be foreign seafarers, who immediately began sailing the ship towards Singapore.

Crew forced off Alcoa ship MV Portland

Chris Peterson — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +1100

'Let them stay'

Chris Peterson — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +1100

More than 300 people braved rain on January 11 in a last ditch attempt to save a Tamil family from deportation to Sri Lanka. Neelavannan Paramanathan and his wife Suganthini fled Sri Lanka in 2008 in the midst of the civil war. They sought asylum in Australia in 2012, and settled in Ballarat with their three daughters in 2013. There is no guarantee of their safety if they return to Sri Lanka, as violence against Tamils continues. There is well-documented evidence of harsh treatment and human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government and military.

Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener: Freedom fighters remembered

Chris Peterson — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +1100

A memorial was held on January 20 for two First Nations freedom fighters, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener. They were executed in 1842, the first two people executed in Victoria. Their deaths form part of the genocide that accompanied the dispossession of the First Nations people. The gathering marched to lay flowers at the Victoria Markets north wall carpark, where their remains and those of 9000 others lie in an unmarked grave.

Refugee activist faces court

Chris Peterson — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +1000

Jasmine Pilbrow faced court on April 7 after she stood up for a refugee who was being deported on her Qantas flight.

Melbourne says "Bring them here"

Chris Peterson — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +1000

On April 30, 1500 people rallied in Melbourne calling on the federal government to bring the all the asylum seekers in offshore detention to Australia. The rally was part of a national weekend of action. The rally was called after the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea ruled that the Manus Island Detention Centre was illegal.

'Coal Face' exposes danger of putting profits first

Chris Peterson — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 11:00:00 +1100

The Coal Face By Tom Doig Penguin, 2015 $9.99, 144 pages Released earlier this year, Tom Doig's The Coal Face describes the day last year that fire took hold in Victoria's Hazelwood coal mine and burned for one-and-a-half months.

Victoria says ‘no fracking way’

Chris Peterson — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 10:00:00 +1000

More than 1000 people rallied on September 20 to declare Victoria free of coal seam gas. Sixty-seven communities have already declared themselves gasfield free. Many regional councils across Victoria are also opposed to coal seam gas. The rally vowed to stop unconventional gas drilling, or fracking, from gaining a foothold and demanded the state government ban unconventional gas in Victoria. Drew Hutton, from Lock The Gate Alliance, said: “This is an historic moment. This state is officially going to become a gasfield-free state.

Melbourne stands in solidarity with Palestine

Chris Peterson — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +1000

About 100 people protested in Melbourne on July 3, International Al Quds Day, as part of a global weekend of action for Palestine. The date marked 50 years since the Six Day War and half a century of Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Nasser from Palestine Advocacy Network said: “We have entered 50 years of occupation of the West Bank and it's been 68 years since Palestine's Nakba. "It represents such a disregard for human rights it is hard to wrap your mind around.

Ezekiel Ox preparing for Full Scale Revolution

Chris Peterson — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:00:00 +1100

Full Scale Revolution (formerly known as Full Scale Deflection and then just Full Scale) are an Australian alternative metal band that formed in Perth in 1998, before relocating to Melbourne in 2001. Fronted by Ezekiel Ox, a frequent performer at protests, Full Scale are an intense live experience. As Full Scale Deflection, the band released their debut album, Symptoms of Chaos in 2000. As Full Scale, they released in 2003, two EPs — Black Arrows and White Arrows — and a self-titled album in 2005.

Melbourne solidarity with Ankara bombing victims

Chris Peterson — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 11:00:00 +1100

An emergency protest on October 12 remembered those killed in a terrorist attack on a peace rally in the Turkish city of Ankara. About 120 people were killed in the bombings on October 10. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The peace rally was protesting against the Turkish government's ongoing war against the Kurdish population. Seval Ulus from the Melbourne Kurdish Association said: “The national creed of 'One Nation, One Language and One Religion' has become a ludicrous social belief that has contaminated peace between cultures.

International Women's Day celebrated in Melbourne

Chris Peterson — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 11:00:00 +1100

Hundreds of people marched for International Women's Day in Melbourne on March 8.

91������̳ - Chris Peterson

Big turn out for NAIDOC march

Activists lock on to save greater glider habitat

Turkey must leave Kurdistan

Wheelchair users take action for access to trams

Medevac refugees on hunger strike have been hospitalised

Call to unite against racism

Silica is the new asbestos says Victorian Trades Hall

Despite visa ban, Manning delivers message of hope

Residents demand action over suspicious toxic fire

Anti-racists outnumber neo-Nazis at Melbourne rally

Melbourne protesters say: ‘Bring them here’

No to Centrelink Robo-Debts

Angela Davis: ‘The refugee movement is the civil rights movement of our time’

Forum: Making Melbourne a Hanson free zone

City of Melbourne council workers strike

Rally against privatisation of disability services

Disability services are not for sale

Rally to save MV Portland

Crew forced off Alcoa ship MV Portland

Crew forced off Alcoa ship MV Portland

'Let them stay'

Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener: Freedom fighters remembered

Refugee activist faces court

Melbourne says "Bring them here"

'Coal Face' exposes danger of putting profits first

Victoria says ‘no fracking way’

Melbourne stands in solidarity with Palestine

Ezekiel Ox preparing for Full Scale Revolution

Melbourne solidarity with Ankara bombing victims

International Women's Day celebrated in Melbourne

91��̳ - Chris Peterson