En Passant

‘The Australian Government plan to Shut Down Aboriginal Peoples Communities and Homelands so on June 1st access to Parliament House will be Shut. Commonwealth Avenue Bridge will be closed.’

The only remarkable thing about the protest, if you consider the sheer scale of the inequality and hardship and lies suffered by Aboriginal people, is actually how peaceful it was, besides the actions of police. Channel 9 recorded Tony Abbott as saying from the inside, “I think it would be very easy for that glass to be smashed”. I must admit, the same thought crossed my mind and probably a few others. But it never actually happened. The only damage done was to Gillard and Abbott’s pride, and the sanctimonious propaganda of “Australia Day”. Seeing Gillard flee in shame was one of the highlights of my life, and a general feeling of jubilation was in the air as Gillard’s shoe was displayed as a symbol of our victory. This is the kind of reception which should greet Gillard wherever she goes.

The duality of racism in Australia means that when Abbott inflames racist tensions by attacking refugees he lays the groundwork for more and more brutal attacks on our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters, including the Tent Embassy.

A major protest has been called for Thursday 26 January in Canberra to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Tent Embassy and to continue the ongoing struggle for Aboriginal rights. There is still plenty more to fight for with both Liberal and Labor governments relentlessly continuing their racist assault on Aboriginal people, graphically illustrated by the appalling Northern Territory intervention.