22 Feb, 2017 – STELaR Weapons Research Centre site in Carlton Occupied
Peace protectors are presently occupying the Carlton site of the future Lockheed Martin weapons research lab.
Now an empty building and lot on the site of the former Women’s Hospital near the University of Melbourne, building will soon begin to make it the largest Lockheed Martin weapons research centre outside of the United States.
The weapons research centre will be known as the STELaR Lab (Space, Technology, Engineering and Research) and it is a joint project of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, the University of Melbourne, the Australian Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin (Australia).
“Whilst thousands of people are homeless across Australia, it’s outrageous that our government is giving money to large corporations like Lockheed Martin” Eli Jessup a spokesperson for the group said.
“The government claims that funding the building of this lab is about job creation. We Peace Protectors say it is about preparation for war and that a better way for the government to create jobs is to invest in housing, healthcare and education”, Mr Jessup said.
“At the end of the day, handing billions of dollars over to Lockheed Martin, whether its at the University of Melbourne, or buying their expensive and dodgy F35 Joint Strike Fighter is a killer of jobs and growth. It is our taxes sucked straight out of the Australian community into the hands of Lockheed Martin one of the biggest profiteering US corporation.
The occupation coincides with the lead up to the Avalon Arms Fair and Airshow, where private contractors such as Lockheed Martin are expected to reap up to 100 billion dollars of government money.
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