by Henry L.
Between the 15th and 17th of March, tens of thousands
of ordinary Australians took to the streets to take part in the ‘March in
March’ demonstrations, which occurred all over the length and breadth of the
nation.
Conservative estimates suggest that at least a crowd
of 35,000 in Melbourne (left) braved the elements, with at least 20,000 in Sydney,
5,000 in Adelaide (below) and 4,000 in Perth. On the final day thousands gathered in
Canberra to deliver a motion of no confidence directly to Parliament House.
The sheer sizes across the board came as a surprise to
both organisers and police. In addition to this, in an almost unprecedented
manner, in almost every major regional centre and indeed a smattering of
smaller localities, sizable demonstrations did occur, demonstrating both the widespread
and diverse nature of discontent as well as the organising potential provided
by effective use of social media platforms.
Although portrayed in the capitalist media as
containing a simple anti-Abbott sentiment, this would do a disservice to the
diversity and nature of the issues that the masses present across the county
felt strongly enough to march about. Many of these are inherently caused by the
nature of the society we currently live in, which is propped up by both major sides
of the parliamentary coin.
This includes the need to sow division amongst the
working class which leads to inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and the
continuing subjugation of the First Nations, the relentless attacks on the
working class, the proposed sale of Australia Post and the ongoing US
imperialist domination of Australia, currently most clearly represented by the
odious ongoing negotiations to seal the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
(TPPA), to name just a few that were expressed widely.
The sheer amount and intensity of discontent that has
been building up within the Australian populace within recent times over the
aforementioned issues and more, with many individuals simply waiting for an
outlet to express this discontent was self-evident to all those present at the
various marches.
Among the reasons the March in March was such a
quickly built and runaway success with people, many of whom who had never
attended a demonstration before in their lives, was that it was a clearly
non-partisan and organically organised phenomena. It was a genuine expression
of discontent with what the political system is inflicting on the people.
All across the country, a broad array of speakers were
involved, including trade union figures and rank and file workers involved in
struggle, Indigenous leaders, peace activists, environmentalists and
anti-imperialists.
The lack of response and input from the ALP in
particular, which claims to be involved with many of the issues marches were
critical of, proved a very interesting and promising part of the evolution of
the rallies, providing a shining example that working people don’t need to rely
on parliamentary politics to prove a point.
Whilst Tony Abbott was a particular target of anger,
as is to be expected with such an aggressive first six months of government, it
was by no means an ALP love-in or ‘day of hate’ directed at one man.
It is vital that this impressive show of strength and
discontent is built upon, and not lost. Such a broad array of people,
protesting and expressing their anger over issues that can all be linked back
to the bankruptcy and chaotic nature of capitalism in the imperialist stage,
has real potential to give this rotten system a shock.
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Further reports:
Bolshevik Club speaker in Perth:
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Further reports:
Bolshevik Club speaker in Perth:
Aboriginal speaker John Hartley in Adelaide:
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