March In March 2014

This week I attended the March In March demonstration in Sydney with my husband and my nearly 9 month old baby. It was an opportunity to catch the ferry (for the first time for the bub) and enjoy a day in the city with like minded people; those who are embarrassed and appalled by our current government and their decisions. Those who want things to change and soon.

For me, these rallies are also a way to show gratitude that I live in a country where we can disagree with our government, publicly and en masse. We can peacefully protest without the threat of violence, imprisonment or death. I do not take this right for granted.

We got there nice and early and set up our picnic blanket right in front of the stage. I was mainly wanting to hear the speeches and planned to go home before the march to get the baby home in time for dinner and bed. 

It poured with rain and despite getting a good spot early, we had to take shelter at Central Station for a while and move from the good spot. I did manage to give the baby some lunch and vacuum down a vegemite and cheese sandwich before the down pour; I even breastfed the baby right there in the middle of Belmore Park, another right I am grateful for and don't take for granted.

At first it seemed that there were only going to be a handful of people at the Sydney march. I was reading tweets and communicating with my sister who lives in Melbourne and it appeared that the Melbourne rally was getting quite crowded. Melbourne people have always been that little bit more radical and political and creative. I think Melbourne city is smaller and easier to get to as well as being designed in a grid, not to mention having a very accessible and efficient public transport system. In comparison, Sydney is huge and complicated and distances are vast and difficult to cover, whether by car or public transport. Sydney was colonised, it just happened, it wasn't really designed, particularly the CBD. Even driving to Manly and catching the ferry to Circular Quay then a train to Central, although efficient, took us a good two hours. I was impressed that on a Sunday we could get a family day tripper ticket and my husband and I got pensioner rates; $2.50 each for traveling on public transport all day. As a friend of ours pointed out, you just don't know about these deals until you have kids. Good info for next time we want to spend the day in town on a Sunday, especially if there is another rally on. It's hard to get Sydney siders to be anything but complacent about important issues. Maybe we're more conservative here; more cynical. Nonetheless, as we were leaving, people were still turning up and although not as huge as Melbourne, I would say the Sydney rally was still a success. Here are some amazing photos of the Sydney rally.

When we started to make our way back to the stage from the shelter of Central, the rain had eased somewhat, but it was still drizzling. The baby had fallen asleep and we bought a plastic rain coat, the last one at the shop as most places had understandably sold out, to cover the pram. I forgot to take the plastic pram cover and discovered the pram is waterproof; it got a good wash anyway. Despite the baby being dry and safe and pretty comfortable in there, I still worried that bringing her to a rally wasn't the brightest idea, I've ever had. I was wrong. I saw heaps of mums with babies and toddlers in prams and strollers and didn't feel out of place at all. The biggest concern then was to avoid standing next to someone who was smoking. An ex smoker myself, I can tolerate the occasional plume of smoke wafting in my direction and although I don't like it, I can persevere; I just didn't want the baby exposed to it. In the fresh air of the outdoors, it wasn't hard to stand in a ventilated spot. Mummy jitters aside, we met up with some friends and settled under my Public Service Association umbrella for the formalities.

The speeches began with a welcome to country, something that should continue to occur as often as possible at any public address, in my opinion. It happened throughout the refuge movement when we held conferences, it happens at any union conference or mass meeting and it should happen at any official ceremony as recognition and respect for the traditional owners of our land. In my mind, the current true custodians of this country. Despite what controversies arise, I enjoy this new tradition. It is very new. It was begun in the 1970's by one Ernie Dingo and it has continued to be practiced, sometimes at some expense and elaborate ceremony, sometimes simply stating recognition of the indigenous custodians of the area. There are some who have criticised this practice and depending on who is doing the criticising and their agenda, although I can see their point of view, I have to disagree. I think it is honourable and often very moving. It needs to be done in the right context and with the right intention to have a positive impact. Here are some instances of this criticism from Wiki.

In 2012, Northern Territory MP and traditional Warlpiri woman Bess Price told a reporter that Welcome to Country ceremonies were not meaningful to traditional people, saying "We don't do that in communities. It's just a recent thing. It's just people who are trying to grapple at something they believe should be traditional."^{[10][11] 
This I find completely justified - if anyone has the authority and authenticity to comment on such a practice it is a traditional indigenous woman and I believe she is simply stating that because it is a recent practice, it shouldn't be claimed as a traditional practice. I don't think she is dismissing its importance.}
 

In 2010, Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott said he thought that, in many contexts, the Welcome to Country seems like out-of-place tokenism.^[12]  
This I find sinister - our now PM, although he wasn't when he made the comments is coming from a place of prejudice. He is implying that there shouldn't be any obligation to do this because it is meaningless.

In 2012, Rhonda Roberts, a prominent indigenous Australian and head of Sydney Opera House indigenous programming, echoed Tony Abbott's criticisms.<sup>[8]
Again I find this an acceptable statement by an Indigenous Australian and although I disagree with her sentiment that the practice is tokenistic, I still feel that she is entitled to make that statement more than Tony Abbott and if she feels it is out of place then I respect that. 

Indigenous Australians have the right to comment on this practice and determine amongst their very diverse community whether it should continue. A white, male, privileged politician doesn't. 

Regardless, at the march it happened and it was wonderful. People cheered and applauded and it didn't seem at all tokenistic or unnecessary. It was practiced with respect, pride and joy and a sense of rebellion; a sense that no matter what, we will keep acknowledging that our indigenous heritage is valuable and worthy of mention EVERY TIME we gather for something purposeful on this land.

There were seven speakers at the rally all up and they all spoke about different things. The topics ranged from our treatment of asylum seekers to cuts to education and the erasing of Gonski, Australia's trade agreements, indigenous rights, disability support, marriage equality and class division to name a few. In between making sure my baby wasn't getting wet or having smoke blown on her (some of which was not tobacco - wonderful for me, not for the baby) I listened closely to what was being said. None of it was new to me and hearing all the negative realities of how this PM and his ministers are governing supposedly on our behalf caused me to tune out half the time. Except when this man  spoke, Hamoun Iranmanesh. I heard; I felt every word. I goosebumped and fought back tears. I wanted to hug him. Instead I shouted and woohooed and cheered and clapped with the crowd. He elated us.

Then Billy Bragg came on, which was a nice surprise, I've always admired him and didn't know he would be at the rally. He sang some politically angsty songs and spoke about Gina Reinhardt and her comments last week about how our country needed more Thatcherism. He commented that she timed it perfectly for his arrival, he wasn't impressed. She obviously made those remarks knowing full well that it would infuriate most people, especially those who weren't born into the kind of wealth that she enjoys. Even if she truly believed that that period of English history was somehow economically favourable; I'm sure it was for some, it wasn't for many; it was insensitive at the least and down right inflammatory and a little bit cunty at the most. Pardon my language. Well no actually; cunty, amongst other c word derivatives, is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. Hooray!

Billy Bragg spoke about how destructive the period of Thatcher's Prime Ministership was for the economically and financially marginalised (it starts at around 2:57. Apologies for the loud distortion earlier at around 1:50 - he was having issues with his sound). He told us we would know Thatcherism when the recipients of welfare assistance are demonised 24/7, when the disabled are disempowered by having their payments made to someone else instead of directly to them, when people living in department housing with one spare bedroom are evicted and made homeless because their accommodation is thought to be superfluous and no smaller dwellings are available, when people needing state provided food rises from 30 a week to 1600 a week as it did in Newcastle in England during Thatcher's years in power. Billy talked about how a conservative government like Thatcher's and like Abbott's degrades and diminishes the well being and prosperity of the most marginalised people in our society "and if socialism is not at heart a form of organised compassion then it is not worthy of the name socialism." Brilliant. 

He then went on to say (at around 6:50) that our greatest enemy is cynicism not capitalism or conservatism - cynicism in our media and particularly attacks on intelligent young women on social media. I could have hugged him too.

Those two speakers; Billy Bragg and Hamoun Iranmanesh were to me the highlight of the day and what it was all about. They summarised my intentions and the reasons I felt so strongly about attending that I dragged my husband and baby through the rain and crowds to be counted as someone who is unhappy about the state of affairs in this country and to stand up and say that the government is not behaving on my behalf. I didn't vote for these idiots, #NOTINMYNAME!</sup> 

 These are a great example of some of the signs at the rallies and how humour can really demonstrate a point peacefully and effectively. I was disappointed to see at the Sydney rally an example of the exact opposite of this. A group of angry young men holding a very long banner that said something which ended in KILL THE POLITICIANS. It pissed me off. There is absolutely no need for that sort of aggression and instigation of violence at a peaceful rally. It was unnecessary and the antithesis of what the whole day was about. It really annoyed me and I was tempted to approach them, but I didn't. I was afraid. 

Anyway, it was a successful movement and I hope we have more. I hope as a nation we continue to call out the government when it blunders. Not just this government, but all future governments too. They work for us you know.