The Brisbane Labour History Association is putting on Friends and Enemies by Tom Zubryki on 11 Oct 2022.
Tue., 11 October 2022
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm AEST
The Elizabeth (Brisbane City) — Five Star Cinemas (the old Irish Club)
175 Elizabeth Street Brisbane City, QLD 4000
Michael Neville will be speaking. His father Bernie led the strike committee in the 1985 SEQEB dispute. Here is a tribute to Bernie and fellow sacked workers who put up such a fight against contract labour.
The cheapest parking in the CBD is King George Square Car Park
It costs $5 from 4.30pm to midnight.
King George Square Car Park has two vehicle entry points and one exit at:
- Roma Street – entry and exit
- Adelaide Street – entry only.
Tom Zubrycki’s film is a fly-on-the-wall doco that features the exploits of Bernie Neville (who recently passed) and the strike committee. The filmmaker is coming up from Sydney to show the film and Bernie’s son Michael Neville will speak at the event as will Peter Ong, the Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union.
The film is fittingly to be held at the old Irish Club.
Hope to see you there,
Ian Curr
21 September 2022
Tickets can be booked here.
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Friends and Enemies
A film about the 1985 SEQEB dispute – one of the most vicious and protracted disputes in Australian labour history – Q&A to follow
In February 1985 over 1,000 electricity workers went on strike against the introduction of contractors into the South east Queensland Electricity Board (SEQEB). The premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson reacted by calling a State of Emergency and sacking the workers. This move lead to one of the most vicious and protracted disputes in Australian labour history. This provocative film is a portrait of what ensued as seen from the perspective of ordinary workers and their families, whose story might otherwise have been unrecorded. Through their struggle against betrayals and oppression, the film achieves an importance that extends far beyond the details of the moment.
At the end of the film, Jeff Rickertt, Chair of the BLHA will host a 30 minute Q&A session with the director and film maker Tom Zubrycki. Tom will be joined by Debra Beattie (2019 paper on the struggle ‘Time, memory and history in the labour documentary film’) and Peter Ong the current secretary of the Electrical Trades Union (QLD & NT Branch).
The cheapest parking in the CBD is King George Square Car Park
It costs $5 from 4.30pm to midnight.
King George Square Car Park has two vehicle entry points and one exit at:
Roma Street – entry and exit
Adelaide Street – entry only.