[Updated 21 May]
![View over pat of crowd at State Library](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2870-blog.jpg?w=584&h=387)
Though called at only a few days’ notice, Melbourne’s rally and march in protest at the Coalition Government’s first budget attracted numbers rivalling the March in March: organisers claimed ten thousand during the initial rally rising to twenty-five thousand by the end at Federation Square. (Rallies in other cities were also large scale, for example ten thousand in Sydney and six thousand in Adelaide according to the ABC.) The format was traditional: speakers at the State Library, march down Swanston Street (though a departure from custom was the splitting up of the march at Bourke Street, with part continuing directly to Federation Square and part making a detour via the Mall and Elizabeth Street and back to Swanston via Collins Street) and final speakers at Federation Square. (For more information on the event, see the Facebook page).
At the State Library
Warm-up music was provided by Celine Yap. The list of speakers was a long one, here and again at Federation Square, and was increased by an unscheduled ‘intervention’ on the part of Indigenous activist and broadcaster Vivian Malo. Among those who spoke at the library were: Karen Pickering, feminist and organiser of Slutwalk Melbourne; Yorta Yorta man Jason Tamiru; ACTU President Ged Kearney (see also http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/AbbottGovernmenttearsapartAustralianwayoflife.aspx); Shaun Murray, Coal spokesperson with Friends of the Earth; Mohammad Ali Baqiri, a refugee who spent three years in detention (see http://umsu.unimelb.edu.au/a-second-chance-the-stories-of-fawad-ahmed-and-mohammad-ali-baqiri/); and Adam Bandt, Greens MHR for seat of Melbourne. MC was RRR presenter Richard Watts.
Others have posted video of some of these speeches on YouTube, for example:
Vivian Malo by Sean Bedlam – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB8gY7WiDJY
Adam Bandt – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WW4MsgdTp8&list=UUExNRjztVKtVu1CNzPpIFCQ
![Celine Yap singing](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2867-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Celine Yap with Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the wind”
![Mohammad Ali Baqiri](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2894-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Mohammad Ali Baqiri
![Karen Pickering](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2887-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Karen Pickering
![Adam Bandt speaking](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2921-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Adam Bandt
![Vivian Malo in front of Aboriginal flag](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2919-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Vivian Malo
![Jason Tamiru speaking](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2884-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Jason Tamiru – “We’re at the bottom of the stack in this country”
![Shaun Murray](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2901-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Shaun Murray
![Ged Kearney](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2914-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Ged Kearney
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Mohammad Ali Baqiri
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Shaun Murray
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Celine Yap with Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the wind”
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Vivian Malo
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Adam Bandt
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Karen Pickering
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Ged Kearney
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Jason Tamiru – “We’re at the bottom of the stack in this country”
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On the march
![Aboriginal flag leading march](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2934-blog.jpg?w=584&h=387)
Marching down Swanston Street
![Senior citizen with placard demanding Abbott reurn his 'self-awarded bonus'](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2939-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
This marcher attracted much attention from photographers
![Woman in shorts and placard with caption ' Abbott can kiss my perky lesbian ass'](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2940-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
As did this one
![Musicians at the old City Centre](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp3007-blog.jpg?w=584&h=387)
Busking against the Budget
(See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnZtyOLTSuk)
![Woman in climate action t-shirt hold leads of two dogs](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2997-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Plenty of dogs on the march
![Woman cradling dog](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp3000-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Even if some had to be carried
![woman holding baby with mini-placard reading "Wah!!!"](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp2985-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
As did some of the younger protesters
![Young woman with placard of variant of classic "First they came for ..."](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp3002-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Bringing up the rear
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Marching down Swanston Street
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This ‘senior citizen’ attracted much attention from photographers
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As did this one
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As did some of the younger protesters
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Plenty of dogs on the march
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Even if some had to be carried
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Bringing up the rear
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Busking against the Budget
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At Federation Square
By the time marchers had assembled at Federation Square organisers felt able to announce a revised attendance figure of twenty-five thousand. Here there were more speakers, with Father Bob Maguire his usual self prominent in a list that included disability activist Jax Jacki Brown and NUS Education Officer Sarah Garnham, Operations Coordinator at Friends of the Earth Samantha Castro, Danae Bosler of Public Transport Not Traffic, broadcaster, writer, media maker and festival director Marcus Westbury, and Tamika Hicks, ALP candidate for Rowville. Rounding everything off was activist singer/songwriter Les Thomas, with a song specially written for occasion – caught here on YouTube.
Danae Bosler’s speech has also been posted to YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf-JCjlEGNo and Tamika Hicks’ can be found here.
![Jax Jacki Brown speaking from wheelchair](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp3027-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Disability activist and spoken word performer Jax Jacki Brown
![Sarah Garnham speaking](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp3044-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
NUS Education Officer Sarah Garnham
![Father Bob pointing with his walking stick](http://web.archive.org./web/20140804044927im_/http://melbourneprotests.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/imgp3076-blog.jpg?w=584&h=879)
Father Bob Maguire
(Father Bob amongst other things used the view over the river to the Eureka building to make a point he has made before about the symbolism of the gold panels at the top of the tower and the blood-red ribbon flowing down from them. See for example at 7min 30 in this video from the eve of the 2007 Federal Election –
http://www.engagemedia.org/Members/pc/videos/23nov-eureka-engagemedia.avi)
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Father Bob Maguire
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NUS Education Officer Sarah Garnham
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Disability activist and spoken word perfomer Jax Jacki Brown
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