The Peaceful Assembly Act 1992 (Qld) (the PAA) gives people the right to hold peaceful public assemblies in Queensland.
#Occupy Brisbane moved by police and Lord Mayor
Today 2 November 2011 Brisbane Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk, used the ancient criminal law of trespass against #Occupy Brisbane who have maintained peaceful possession of Post office Square since Saturday 15 October 2011
Quirk’s advisors appear to have frustrated the Public Assemblies Act of Qld brought in by the Goss Labor government to protect people’s rght to peaceful assembly. Politically the Lord Mayor has claimed it was necessary because of the Remembrance Day Commemoration on 11/11/2011. This ceremony usually occurs near the eternal flame at the top of Anzac Park some distance away from Post Office Square. He has hung his political hat on the heads of diggers who fought a terrible war in France and Turkey under the banner of democracy and freedom.
In response the occupiers chanted this is what hypocrisy looks like. They were ordered to move out by police at 4.32am. By 6.30am while the first shift of workers began to appear near the square all that remianed was bare ground and a single tent. Twenty people some with arms linked refused to leave. They were arrested, detained and subsequently released without charges after being searched, personal items confiscated and required to give their names and addresses. These people had been in peaceful possession of the land – aboriginal elders had sanctioned their occupation.
The refusal by civil authorities around the world to permit occupation of financial districts has placed pressure on the 99% movement from Wall Street to Brisbane to find a solution. Some propose shanty towns of unemployed and homeless, others seek support from workers nearby. The recent lock out of workers from Qantas poses the question of how can people respond to the continual greedy search for profits by the 1%. Allan Joyce threw down the gauntlet on Sunday & Monday to Qantas workers.
Seafarers on the Aurelian Spirit were told their jobs were being offshored and their oil tanker is being replaced by an unsafe ship of shame.
Jessica Van Vondren reckons that Anna Bligh has said Occupy Brisbane protestors can move to Roma Street Parklands if they do so peacefully. Is it hers to offer? Well yes but it comes with rules as long as your arm including a prohibition on camping.
How can we grow?
The political concern here is that Brisbanites will not accept their gardens being occupied by the unemployed and homeless people of #Occupy Brisbane — it may be difficult to convince the general public to occupy a space with another function i.e. as a garden for the use of many. The Qld government sold off Queens Park to Jupiters Casino and now the Qld premier says that Queens Park inappropriate place for Occupy Brisbane protestors because no toilets and several other functions booked. This is not correct, there are toilets nearby accessible to the public and we have our own water. What other functions are booked that we can’t accommodate?
OccupyBrisbane will decide where we go and where we assemble not Anna Bligh, not Graham Quirk and not the police.
Around the world particularly in the US #Occupy movements are having similar problems — Naomi Kline writes: “Protesters should also make their own media, rather than relying on mainstream outlets to cover them. They should blog, tweet, write editorials and press releases, as well as log and document cases of police abuse (and the abusers).” Well yes, we are trying to achieve that but it takes more than an idea we need organisation and at the moment this is hard because we police attack we become divided between the super militants satirised here in the Life of Brian
The anarcho-syndicalists peasants (pick the peasant who is one of the 99%! in the following video)
And the spiritualists – their videos are too long and full of conspiracy theories to be included here — a special post will be devoted to this part of the movement.
Ian Curr