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Eureka150 spawns Alternative Democracy dialogue
by Monty MIller
Wednesday December 01, 2004 at 03:38 AM
The high participation cost of the Releasing the SPIRIT of Democracy Conference ($660) at the St Helen's campus of the University of Ballarat 25-27 November has given rise to a series of Alternative Democracy Forums to be held in Ballarat as part of the Eureka Rising Rebel Festival of the Eureka150 commemorations.
The Alternative Democracy Forums will be themed on the fostering of poverty, the suppression of dissent, the destruction of nature and the dangers to liberty of "anything goes" capitalism.
"The 19th century inventors of democracy thought that a vote for all adults would protect the common people from government by liars, war mongers, secret police, jailers, torturers and agents for the greed and piracy of the rich and privileged," said William Brugman, artist director of the Eureka Rising.
"But the recent re-elections of Howard and Bush has clearly demonstrated to many that democracy has become the best government that corporate money can buy."
The Alternative Democracy Forums began with a Direct Democracy Rally on 26 November outside the Cato Conference Centre on the St Helen's campus in parallel with the official, high price Democracy Conference inside.
Dr Joe Toscano of the Melbourne based, Anarchist Media Institute, helped organise the protest. He was also an invited participant at the Releasing the Spirit Conference. Outside the conference Dr Joe Toscano spoke under a gum tree outside the Cato Centre. He called for an apology from the Victoria Police, for the massacre of miners and innocent bystanders at Eureka in 1854.
Grainery Lane Theatre and Bar also hosted a series of open mike Eureka Rising Democracy Forums. Themes included: Democracy in the Age of the Neo Cons on 25 November; and Reinventing Democracy in the 21 Century for Peace, Justice and the Earth on 26 November.
On Saturday 4 December in Eureka Park after the conclusion of the Diggers March, Green Left will be conducting an open mike Industrial Democracy Forum with keynote speaker Jim McIllroy, a Queensland labour organiser and historian.
Also on Saturday, from 4 to 8 pm in Grainery Lane, another Forum will gather around the theme of the "OZ"-US "Free Trade Agreement" and the Erosion of Democracy. Speakers will include activist/publisher, Dr Susan
Hawthorne, feminist advocate, Dr Caroline Taylor, and environmental researcher and campaigner, Michelle van Gerrevink.
Further information
Culture Lab International http://www.culturelab.org.au
Releasing the SPIRIT of Democracy Conference http://www.eureka150-ubdemocracy.com
Reclaim the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion events for Friday 3 December:
4am-6am - Gathering at Eureka Park at the Eureka rebellion memorial
to mark the 150th anniversary of the battle on the site at the time it occurred
6am-9am - breakfast Eureka Park (bring your own food & drinks)
9am-1pm - march from Eureka Park to the old Ballarat cemetery to
pay our respects to all those who died in the Eureka battle who
are buried at the old ballarat cemetery. We will then walk from
the old Ballarat cemetery through the centre of Ballarat
to Bakery Hill to re-affirm the Eureka oath, then we will walk back
to Eureka Park (bring your own banners and flags)
1pm-4pm - lunch & conversation Eureka Park (bring your own food & drinks)
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