Saturday, 12 October, 12:30 PM

Don't let Abbott take away our right to choose: Defend our abortion rights!

On March 12, anti-choice bigots are holding their ‘March for the Babies’, which begins at Treasury Gardens and ends at Parliament House. This annual march is meant to shame Victorians for legalising abortion in 2008. The thousands who attend don’t believe women have the right to control their own bodies. They want abortion to be a criminal act.

Join the counter-rally on the steps of Parliament House, Spring Street, Melbourne.

Like Tony Abbott, these people prefer a society where women don’t have the right to safely access abortion, to work, to financially care for families, and to fully participate in society.

Last time Abbott was in government, he made abortion a national issue. He said it was a shameful ‘epidemic’, and merely a question of a woman’s ‘convenience’. His government tried to ban RU486, they cut funding to any aid organisation working in reproductive rights, they harassed abortion providers, and they made abortion an issue up for debate.

We think Abbott and his friends – Bernie Finn (Victorian MP and organiser of this march), John Madigan, Dennis Hart, George Pell, Fred Nile, Christopher Pyne – are sexists. Some of them are misogynists. And they want to see legislative changes at a state and federal level that would prevent women exercising choices about their own health.

We object to Abbott being in charge of Women’s Affairs and Indigenous Affairs. We know he and his friends will use conservative ‘family values’ and sexism to attack women’s rights and social services for all vulnerable communities (like refugees, like Indigenous Australians).

The majority of the Australian population are on our side – regardless of religion or politics, they support a woman’s right to access abortion.

But this rally isn’t just about abortion. It’s about equality in society and all that entails: childcare, health services, housing, education and training, jobs, equal pay, and an end to all forms of discrimination.

So we need to mobilise, and we need to start now – by showing these bigots that we’re keeping our rights and we're never going back!

Endorsed by: Freedom Socialist Party, Campaign for Women's Reproductive Rights, Radical Women, National Union of Students Queer Department, RUSU Womyn's Department, Monash Student Association Women's Department, Socialist Alternative, The Nerve (band), Socialist Alliance, Melbourne Feminist Action, Under the Hammer Arts collective, Keep Left Poetry, Cherchez la Femme, SlutWalk Melbourne, Pay Justice Action (list in progress)

To participate with the Freedom Socialist Party call 9388-0062 or email freedom.socialist.party@ozemail.com.au

Mondays, 14 October - 9 December, 7:00 PM

Study circle: Leon Trotsky and the Power of Ideas

Are you intrigued to know more about revolutionary leader, Leon Trotsky? Do you want to learn about the importance of the Russian Revolution, to understand why Stalin’s bureaucracy emerged, to know where leadership comes from and how to change society?

The problems faced by Trotsky are still the problems of today: war, hunger, poverty and the lack of democratic rights in supposedly democratic societies.

This study circle will discuss Leon Trotsky: His Life and Ideas by Helen Gilbert and is the perfect starting point for those keen to explore why Trotsky’s analysis remains indispensable to solving the contemporary problems of our planet.

Absolutely no prior knowledge is required, and everyone is welcome.

Dinner served at 6:30 pm for an $8 donation.

The discussion will be held at Solidarity Salon (address and travel information is above).

For more information call 9388-0062 or email freedom.socialist.party@ozemail.com.au

Thursday, 17 October, 7:00 PM

Movie screening - Every Mother’s Son

This gripping documentary follows three mothers in New York City who became unintentional activists against police brutality. Iris Baez, Kadiatou Diallo, and Doris Busch Boskey each grieved the murder of an unarmed son by NY police. The 60-minute film showcases the mothers – Puerto Rican, West African, and Jewish – as they come together to seek justice. During their quest, cover-ups and lies are discovered and they find the “justice” system is stacked against them. But — just like the Aboriginal mothers, who tenaciously campaign to bring out the truth about deaths in custody — this does not stop the women’s courageous fight.

The program will be followed by a supper social. $5 unwaged, $10 waged and $20 solidarity price

Proceeds will benefit the work of Melbourne Radical Women and Indigenous Social Justice Association – Melbourne

The event will be held at Solidarity Salon (address and travel information is above).

For more information call 9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au