unions | MelbourneProtests 2007-2011 – and occasionally since

An extraordinary diversity of protests and protesters marked this, the third Bust the Budget rally in Melbourne. Asylum Seekers, the ABC, Unions, Climate Change, Medicare, Education … the list goes on. Also pronounced was the anger against Tony Abbott and resentment at his departures from pre-election statements and promises, as the selection below may indicate.Total numbers were hard to gauge – as The Age reports, figures from twelve to twenty thousand were being quoted – but they were at least comparable to the earlier protests, and that in spite of the weather and the timing (in the middle of the school holidays). Some idea of the overall size can be got, however, from the fact that the march up St Kilda Road from the rally location opposite the Arts Centre took just over twenty minutes to pass a single point (continuous video of this stage of the march is in preparation and should be available in the next day or so, by way of confirmation).[Video added 7 July.] Apart from the new starting point, the event took the traditional form: rally with speeches followed by a march through the CBD, ending at Parliament House with more speeches. These divisions are loosely followed in the photos below, but first a few overviews:
At the start -

On the March -

Final rally at Parliament House (the rain that had held off until now prompted a quick unfurling of brollies) -

From the rally at Queen Victoria Gardens -

A selection of placards targeting Tony Abbott (some captured during the march)-

The March sets off –

From the March (rather few, but see forthcoming video for full coverage) -

A few more from the end -

Resting at the end

Baby Boomers for Climate Change Action - placard spotted at Parliament House

Spotted at the end

Another dog getting a deserved rest

At Trades Hall - the march forming up

“Rights on Site”

A meeting of shop stewards earlier this month called for mass rally of building and construction workers on this day, coinciding with international observance of Workers’ Memorial Day. The weather was wretched, and employers threatened reprisals, but the turnout was tremendous – between ten and fifteen thousand in Melbourne, and thousands more around the country. Apart from paying respect to the memory of workers who had lost their lives on the job the focus of the rally was opposition to the extreme anti-union laws introduced by the previous government particularly aimed at the building industry and taking the form of the hated ABCC. Speakers condemned the attacks on worker’s rights and civil liberties, stressing the impact on safety in the workplace. In the background was the current dispute at the West Gate Bridge, where workers were sacked for refusing to put up with unsafe conditions.

There is a report on the website of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, by Brian Boyd, who was MC on the day; at the end of the march, when workers massed outside the headquarters of the Master Builders’ Association, Brian Boyd read out a resolution from the shop stewards’ meeting and invited the rally to endorse it. Which was done unanimously:
“This meeting of shop stewards/delegates condemns the use of the coercive powers by the ABCC.

“We call on all Union officials and construction workers to refuse to participate in such interrogations.

“In event of any person being imprisoned or otherwise penalised for refusing to co-operate with the ABCC we pledge our full support and call for a national industrial response from the construction unions, the ACTU and all affiliates”.

See also the Rights on Site website and the websites of the CFMEU, the MUA; there was also a report in The Australian.

Correction – in this video, the name of the CFMEU member who spoke at the end of the march is incorrectly captioned as “Tony”. It should be “Toby”. The mistake was caused by mishearing; I trust he will accept my apologies.

There are extracts from some of the speeches and footage from the march in the YouTube video above; here are some stills taken at the same time: