I put together my footage from the bus trip into a short video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwYQEQ-kRCc
sound:
Blue King Brown
Xavier Rudd
Speakers from bus and conference
-Louisa
Monday, August 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Update on blockade
Photos of the action are here
Protesters say they won't move or leave until the locked-on man is released without charge.
Reporters from the local newspaper, the Roxby Downs Monitor, have arrived. A huge road train carrying cement into the mine site is sitting outside unable to enter.
Protesters blockading Olympic Dam uranium mine!
***Media Alert***
15/07/2010
Contact: Zane Alcorn 0401 466 831
A bus load of 40 people from the East Coast of Australia are staging a protest against the expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine.
The protesters, who have been travelling through central Australia on an Indigenous Solidarity ride for the past two weeks, are blocking the front gates of the mine, they have created a human sign in a colourful protest.
The purpose is to highlight the catastrophic effects the mine and its expansion would have on Traditional Owners, their land and future generations.
Zane Alcorn, spokesperson for the Indigenous Solidarity Rides, said: “Not only is the expansion at Olympic Dam going ahead without the consent of Traditional Owners, but forty million litres of water per day is being sucked out of the Artesian Basin on Arabunna land to service the mine. Australia is the driest continent on the earth and faces a massive water shortage. It is ludicrous that we are literally exporting our sacred and precious water.
“The Melbourne based group Beyond Zero Emissions have done what the Government should have, and that is draw up a plan for running Australia on 100% renewables, namely wind and baseload solar. Uranium mining and nuclear energy cost more than renewables and are a completely redundant industry. This mine needs to be shut down, not expanded.”
Catrina Staurmberg, also on the bus, said: “This is a toxic mine, no one is safe. Radioactive material does not discriminate. If the open-cut expansion or any kind of uranium mining continues it will put many lives at risk across the country. For every tonne of uranium produced, 660 tonnes of radioactive tailings waste remains behind. This waste is NOT carefully contained. It literally piles up in the outback. Here it may be out of sight of most Australians, but watch New Zealand’s snowy peaks glow pink when the winds blow eastwards, and know that this is not just desert dust.”
“The toxicity of tailings waste, risk of contamination and commercial consumption of precious water, all adds up to a poisonous industry that must be shut down.”
For media inquiries and interview contact: Zane Alcorn on 0401 466 831, or Catrina Straumberg on 0437 772 164.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Defending Indigenous Rights: Land, Law, Culture
After over a week on the road, the NSW Indigenous Solidarity Bus reached Alice Springs on the evening of Wednesday, July 7th, in time for the final two days of the Defending Indigenous Rights convergence at Yirara College which ran from 6th - 9th July. Arriving just in time for dinner, we were warmly greeted by organisers and fellow activists. This warmth was a relief from the bitter cold outside - the day before we arrived was the coldest in Alice's history, reaching a top of just 6.3 degrees! Fortunately we were able to set up camp on an undercover basketball court alongside fellow Solidarity Bus riders from Queensland.
The Defending Indigenous Rights convergence was called to bring together community leaders from across the Northern Territory and Indigenous solidarity activists from across the country, with a major focus on fighting back against the NT Intervention. Aboriginal community leaders such as Harry Nelson, Murray George, Barb Shaw, Uncle Kevin Buzzacott and Richard Downs — along with many others — addressed and facilitated forums covering the full scope of attacks on Aboriginal people, their land, culture and language. Issues as diverse as the basics card, the 'Jobs for Justice' campaign, uranium mining and dumping on indigenous territory, Indigenous health and community-controlled health programs and employment initiatives and deaths in custody were covered by forums and workshops.
Activists from the NSW bus were able to take part in workshops and plenaries discussing where the movement for Indigenous rights should go from here, as well as helping out with the convergence's logistics - feeding over 200 people is no mean feat! One of the highlights of our two days at the conference was a film by Chris Graham, former National Indigenous Times editor, which outlined how the 2006 Insight report on child abuse at Mutitjulu, which sparked the Intervention, used fabricated sources and false information. This film had been screened while we were on the road from Alice, and was repeated on our first morning at the convergence.
Another key issue which Solidarity Bus riders heard about was the attacks on bilingual education which are part of the NT Intervention. On Thursday morning the convergence was addressed by teachers and community leaders from across the NT, who compared the unruly English-only classes in remote communities to those which are taught in traditional languages, in which students are attentive and well-behaved. Drawing on historic links between the Aboriginal Rights movement and trade unions, the convergence called on the Australian Education Union to support teachers who refuse to implement the ban on bilingual education. Our resident graffiti artist and organiser extraordinaire Zane did up a statement supporting teachers on the side of our bus - joining those calling for real jobs and self determination.
Other resolutions were passed on the final day of the conference, with a particular emphasis on the Intervention, the upcoming federal elections and a national day of action to be called for September, before we loaded up the Solidarity Buses for a trip to Todd Mall to take part in a 300-strong rally and march calling for an end to the Intervention. The atmosphere on the brief trip into town was great, with a guitar passing hands and anthems of the struggle such as Blackfella/Whitefella and From Little Things Big Things Grow having the whole bus singing along. We reached the rally all pumped up and ready for action, and it didn't disappoint. Although the local media has not yet responded to the action, it was highly visible and very loud: we took to the streets for over half an hour, after a range of speakers who had attended the convergence, before arriving at the end of NAIDOC week celebrations for a barbeque, performance and awards ceremony.
Some of the best parts of the convergence were musically inclined; Neil Murray, legendary musician and one of the founding members of the Warumpi band, played several Warumpi band songs for the gathering, including a beautiful duet of My Island Home with a local singer, as part of the convergence's agenda. But we also shared moments of connection outside of the formal schedule; each evening bus trippers, activists and indigenous campaigners gathered around the campfire for music and, on our final night, roasted potatoes and Kangaroo tail. Informal meetings and discussions between activists and campaigners such as these, alongside the political outcomes of the convergence, are of great importance in breaking through the divisive race-card politics of both major parties.
We finally got together on Saturday morning for a farewell photo with the bus and a big clean-up session before packing our bags and heading off. Several trippers were able to hitch or hire their way to the walk-off camp at Ampilatwatja, while the rest of us spent a day and night sight-seeing before stopping in at Mount Nancy.
The Defending Indigenous Rights convergence was called to bring together community leaders from across the Northern Territory and Indigenous solidarity activists from across the country, with a major focus on fighting back against the NT Intervention. Aboriginal community leaders such as Harry Nelson, Murray George, Barb Shaw, Uncle Kevin Buzzacott and Richard Downs — along with many others — addressed and facilitated forums covering the full scope of attacks on Aboriginal people, their land, culture and language. Issues as diverse as the basics card, the 'Jobs for Justice' campaign, uranium mining and dumping on indigenous territory, Indigenous health and community-controlled health programs and employment initiatives and deaths in custody were covered by forums and workshops.
Activists from the NSW bus were able to take part in workshops and plenaries discussing where the movement for Indigenous rights should go from here, as well as helping out with the convergence's logistics - feeding over 200 people is no mean feat! One of the highlights of our two days at the conference was a film by Chris Graham, former National Indigenous Times editor, which outlined how the 2006 Insight report on child abuse at Mutitjulu, which sparked the Intervention, used fabricated sources and false information. This film had been screened while we were on the road from Alice, and was repeated on our first morning at the convergence.
Another key issue which Solidarity Bus riders heard about was the attacks on bilingual education which are part of the NT Intervention. On Thursday morning the convergence was addressed by teachers and community leaders from across the NT, who compared the unruly English-only classes in remote communities to those which are taught in traditional languages, in which students are attentive and well-behaved. Drawing on historic links between the Aboriginal Rights movement and trade unions, the convergence called on the Australian Education Union to support teachers who refuse to implement the ban on bilingual education. Our resident graffiti artist and organiser extraordinaire Zane did up a statement supporting teachers on the side of our bus - joining those calling for real jobs and self determination.
Other resolutions were passed on the final day of the conference, with a particular emphasis on the Intervention, the upcoming federal elections and a national day of action to be called for September, before we loaded up the Solidarity Buses for a trip to Todd Mall to take part in a 300-strong rally and march calling for an end to the Intervention. The atmosphere on the brief trip into town was great, with a guitar passing hands and anthems of the struggle such as Blackfella/Whitefella and From Little Things Big Things Grow having the whole bus singing along. We reached the rally all pumped up and ready for action, and it didn't disappoint. Although the local media has not yet responded to the action, it was highly visible and very loud: we took to the streets for over half an hour, after a range of speakers who had attended the convergence, before arriving at the end of NAIDOC week celebrations for a barbeque, performance and awards ceremony.
Some of the best parts of the convergence were musically inclined; Neil Murray, legendary musician and one of the founding members of the Warumpi band, played several Warumpi band songs for the gathering, including a beautiful duet of My Island Home with a local singer, as part of the convergence's agenda. But we also shared moments of connection outside of the formal schedule; each evening bus trippers, activists and indigenous campaigners gathered around the campfire for music and, on our final night, roasted potatoes and Kangaroo tail. Informal meetings and discussions between activists and campaigners such as these, alongside the political outcomes of the convergence, are of great importance in breaking through the divisive race-card politics of both major parties.
We finally got together on Saturday morning for a farewell photo with the bus and a big clean-up session before packing our bags and heading off. Several trippers were able to hitch or hire their way to the walk-off camp at Ampilatwatja, while the rest of us spent a day and night sight-seeing before stopping in at Mount Nancy.
Monday, July 5, 2010
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