Howards 10th Anniversary Extravagansa : Melbourne Indymedia

For the second day in a row, workers and young people have protested at functions celebrating John Howard’s 10th anniversary in office. In Sydney on Thursday night hundreds of demonstrators marched on the main entrance of the Westin Hotel where guests had gathered to hear Howard speak. On Friday night in the exclusive Melbourne suburb of Toorak about 150 protesters gathered outside a mansion where a $10,000 per head dinner was organised for Howard and the big business elite.

The Melbourne protest was rowdy with people chanting slogans against the war in Iraq, for the rights of refugees and in particular against Howard’s new IR legislation. The demonstration was covered by all of the major media outlets and several Socialist Party members were interviewed throughout the day. SP National Organiser Anthony Main was featured heavily on several outlets getting many points across about Howard’s attacks on workers and young people.

The Victoria Police were out in force with police officers almost outnumbering protesters. In a break with tradition the specially trained Force Response Unit did not oversee the operation, and in fact the local Prahran Police station looked after the event. Despite extra police being brought in from Moorabbin, Mordialloc and Caulfield they were still unable to control the situation. Protesters broke the police line on several occasions to get up close and personal with Howard as his chauffer driven car was escorted into the premises.

Some minor scuffles broke out between police and protesters, including one incident where a police officer repeatedly kicked a young person. This was caught on film by one of the demonstrators and SP members were scathing in the media after this event. Both in the lead up to the event and on the night the police were extremely uncooperative. They were not only provocative towards the protest but on many occasions refused to negotiate with the protesters.

Unfortunately unlike the protest in Sydney on Thursday no official trade union contingents were present on the demonstration. Apart from the Socialist Party and other socialist groups, individual rank and file unionists and a handful of anarchists attended the demonstration. The fact that the union movement has not chosen to officially get involved in these demonstrations is a shame as Howard’s IR laws are the biggest ever attack the unions have seen. Not only do we need to protest Howard whenever he is attending functions like the ones we have seen this week, but we need to organise a mass movement that will not only defeat the IR laws but Howard himself.

I'm totally with you in the reasons to protest the PM and the short-sighted, dangerous and capitalistic ignorance of our government on many issues. I attend many such protests myself.

It appears again, however, that a few give the "movement" a bad name in allowing the media nothing but images of scuffles or use of the word "violence" - regardless of whether it comes from police or other individuals (and as always I'm sure it's just a few bad eggs amongst protestors...)

Still, the effectiveness of non-violence, communicating within our circles and in giving the media ONLY the message(s) you/we need them to publicise, remains. And this is so important.

I suggest that more insightful people think along these lines, encourage others do so with effective, creative communication (note even body language that may simply be interpreted as "confontational") and, in doing so, retain our true power for communicating directly to the protest target and via the commercial media.

Scuffling with police - regardless of "who started it" - really serves nothing for the cause in the eyes of the masses watching the evening news. In these days where people exist as frogs in the boiling pot we can't afford to give images unrepresentative of the issues and possibilities for positive change and which may only further justify, in their minds, any prejudice against the "protest movement".

Police Violence!
by marcusneofitou@hotmail.com Sunday March 05, 2006 at 07:54 PM

Congratulations to the people who turned up to Toorak.
It looked pretty obvious to me that the police were doling out the violence at this protest.

We can't not do effective protest because the police might lay into people. That's their job!

AJ
by Violence doesn't communicate solutions Monday March 06, 2006 at 08:33 AM

True.

Still, it's how police action is responded to which can so easily give away the message and give the media the shots they're after. We needn't - and can't afford to - give them that power.

Looking at the above pics - what's the message they give?
If we can't even communicate our own message clearly what hope has the commercial media got to tell the public what's really going on and why we're there?

AJ

I think that some of what you have said makes some sense but you have confused two different political ideas.

Non violence is a philosophy concerning how people should behave at protests like these.

The idea of having a clear message and only letting this be filmed is a totally separate idea. This can only be done if the protest isnt open and is done as a close action. This idea is popular in much of the environmental movement at the moment. There are times where we need to all come together and do open protesting. Its not possible to stop people chating what they want or bringing the banners of there choice

Violent Bosses ?
by OCC Health & Safety Thursday March 09, 2006 at 05:37 PM

Mum Rains on Howard's Parade

A week of Prime Ministerial back-slapping turned sour when a distressed mum told crowds gathered outside John Howard's anniversary dinner unionists were the only people who cared when her son was bashed.

Atirua Kautai stood by her son, Samuel, who is legally blind after his boss allegedly beat him with a claw hammer, to tell those who couldn't afford to enter John Howard's lavish celebration that unions had become like family since they went into bat for her son.

"What happened to my son was really terrible ... I want to thank the union," the shop assistant from the Cooks Islands said.

She said Howard's assault on unions was an attack on young, vulnerable people like her son.

Kautai's speech was in stark contrast to the suits slipping into the $1000-a-plate dinner.

About 1000 workers gathered at Martin Place to highlight Howard's attack on workers, as business people and politicians celebrated.

Unions NSW Secretary John Robertson said workers had suffered as a result of Howard's 10 years.

He said the situation would only get worse with the introduction of WorkChoices.

"These laws are not going to help families," Robertson said.

"They have been drafted by big business they don't talk about people; they don't talk about families; they don't talk about Australian society.

"The only thing big business is interested in is how much more money they can make."

After hearing from other workers, the crowd moved opposite the Westin Hotel where they jeered guests who entered.