Extinction Rebellion activists continue to hold disruptive actions around Australia.
Merri-bek City Council
More than 150 local and public housing residents attended a forum organised by the Public Housing Defence Network at the Brunswick Town Hall on October 4.
The forum focused on the problems with the Victorian state government鈥檚 Public Housing Renewal Program and, in particular, the plight of residents from the Gronn Place estate in West Brunswick who have been forced to leave as a result of the estate鈥檚 sell-off to private developers.
Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton reported that on February 14 Moreland City Council in Victoria passed her motion calling for an increase in the Newstart allowance. This follows similar decisions by 10 South Australian local councils prompted by campaigners from the Anti-Poverty Network.
The motion called for Newstart to be increased to the Henderson poverty line. Newstart is currently $177 below the poverty line.
I don鈥檛 know if an opinion poll has ever been done, but a sizeable portion of Australians, perhaps a majority, recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had their land invaded by the British and experienced a systematic genocide.
The fact that this is widely recognised is reflected in the huge protests in response to threats to close remote Aboriginal communities and the response to Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance鈥檚 call-out for protests. Even back in 1988, there were 100,000 people protesting the so-called Bicentenary in Sydney.
Consistent work by residents of Melbourne's northern suburb of Fawkner has resulted in a unanimous decision by Moreland Council to reject a development application on a site heavily contaminated with dioxin.
Dioxin is a byproduct of Agent Orange and is one of the world鈥檚 deadliest chemicals.
Moreland Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton, who has been supporting residents in their campaign, told 麻豆传媒 Weekly that without the community campaign such a decision would not have been possible.
"The result was a real example of people power,鈥 she said.
About a dozen neo-Nazis stormed the Moreland Council meeting on September 27 following the council's decision at their last meeting not to celebrate Australia Day on January 26.
Councillor Sue Bolton, a member of Socialist Alliance, told 麻豆传媒 Weekly she "didn't feel threatened" by the protesters, who "looked like buffoons", but that their actions indicate how provocative and confident they have become.
Local comedian Pauline Fartson (aka Helchild) summed up the sentiment of the Busk for Free Speech rally on August 6 when she held up a giant permit, which said 鈥淧ermit to breathe in public places in Moreland鈥.
Busk for Free Speech was held to highlight some of the anti-democratic and discriminatory local laws being proposed by Moreland City Council as part of its review of local laws. Most of the proposed laws already exist under the current local laws but they are also being included in the draft general local law.
Many councils across Australia have local laws that restrict free speech. Most people are unaware of these laws, until there is an issue that engages them enough to want to exercise their right to free speech and set up a stall, hand out leaflets, get petitions signed and maybe organise a protest rally.
Only when a council officer tells them they have to pack up and leave, do they realise there are undemocratic laws on the books.
Australian anti-racist athlete Peter Norman, who was born in Coburg and later became a trainer and player for West Brunswick Football Club, is to be recognised by the Moreland Council.
Norman remains Australia鈥檚 fastest sprinter 鈥 his Australian 200-metre record from the 1968 Mexico City Olympics still stands.
However, Norman was not just an extraordinary athlete. He also took a stand against racism and for human rights. He was the third man in the iconic photo of the medal ceremony for the 200-metre race.
Sue Bolton, a long-term socialist activist running for re-election to the Moreland City Council, is being targeted by cowardly racists. But that has helped galvanise a huge amount of community support for her work and principled stands.
Community activists, residents and supporters came together to launch Sue Bolton's campaign for re-election to the City of Moreland Council in Melbourne's northern suburbs on September 10.
Bolton, a member of Socialist Alliance, received some heart-warming endorsements and pledges of support from a number of community members.
Socialist councillor Sue Bolton convinced Moreland Council on July 13 to reinstate the after-hours Aged and Disability Home Support Services for existing clients as well as new ones.
Bolton said she was enormously grateful to the parents of children with disabilities who spoke up on behalf of all the parents who were unable to come to the meeting or who didn鈥檛 think it was possible to fight the cut.
鈥淭hose parents put a human face on the implications of a very bureaucratic cut: their stories had an impact on the other councillors鈥, Bolton told 麻豆传媒 Weekly.
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