Photo by Jeffery Chan, Canberra Times, shows Canberra Interfaith Forum vice-chairman Harry Oppermann, RAC organiser John Minns, UnionsACT Sec. Alex White, former Save the Children worker & Nauru whistle-blower Tobias Gunn, & Australian Muslim Voice president Diana Abdel Rahman.
Canberrans turned out in large numbers on Sunday to the rally organised by the Refugee Action Committee.
The unions’ “Build a Better Future” campaign office, at 60 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan, is up and running. The campaign focuses on the following six points:
Photo by Jeremy Kirkwood
September – October: National Film & Sound Archive. Films celebrating 40 years of
Papua New Guinea Independence.
15-26 September. Wharf Revue at the Canberra Theatre.
23-26 September. Circus Oz at the Canberra Theatre.
25 September, 6 p.m. Rosie Batty at the National Library. $10. RSVP 6262 1271.
27 September, 12 – 5 pm. Foundation Day Celebration at the Canberra Yacht Club.
29 September, 6.30: David Marr talking to Laura Tingle about his new “Quarterly
Essay” on Bill Shorten. ANU, Manning Clark theatre 2.
30 September, 4.15 p.m.: Frank Bongiorno on Sir John Crawford. Menzies Library ANU,
McDonald Room.
There was a lot to talk about this morning, after yesterday’s demolition of the former prime minister Tony Abbott and his replacement by Malcolm Turnbull. But Vintage Reds managed nonetheless to pay attention to a very good presentation by Kelly Bowman from the Teachers’ Federation, on the Gonski campaign now ramping up, “I give a Gonski”. Kelly is a teacher at Karabar High School in Queanbeyan.
The Abbott government’s back-down on funding for the last two years of the six-year Gonski funding model will cost schools in NSW alone over a billion dollars, of which over $900 million was to flow to state schools. Gonski aims to lift students out of educational disadvantage, whether they are students from low-income families or from rural and remote areas, students with a disability, Aboriginal students, or those from non-English speaking backgrounds. “It’s what Australians call a fair go”.
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Vintage Reds members joined a meeting of Unionists for Refugees on the 18th September to discuss the big rally planned for 11 October 2015 in Garema Place.
The Refugee Action Committee is urging union groups as well as other community, faith, political and student groups to join them in demanding an end to our government’s cruelty towards asylum seekers and refugees.
As part of the ACTU’s marginal seats campaign, Saturday’s doorknock around Queanbeyan went off well, the Canberra Times‘s Clare Colley reporting that sixty people had showed up on a beautiful day to put on their “Build a Better Future” T-shirts and get to work.
Vintage Reds member Albert White, who lives in Queanbeyan, was quoted in the article; his well chosen words as reported below:
Please be advised that the Committee of Management has agreed to defer the AGM until 21 October 2015.
Jeremy Corbyn won the UK Labour Party leadership on 12 September 2015, stunning both his fans and his critics with a huge first-preference vote of over 59%.
Corbyn’s policy preferences in such areas as investment in public housing, health and transport; support for public education and collective bargaining; and his opposition to austerity economics, are likely to find favour with many Vintage Red members.
VR Convenor Jane Timbrell sent him a message of congratulations as soon as the news came through!
The ACTU/UnionsACT campaign in the marginal seat of Eden-Monaro has commenced.
The Campaign Office at 60 Monaro Street Queanbeyan will be staffed by the Vintage Reds between 10am and 4pm from Monday till Friday during the course of the campaign.
We will be talking to the community about this government’s threats to job security, health, education and public services.
Members of the Vintage Reds Local Labour History group met on the 1st September 2015 at the Menzies Library, ANU, for an introductory session on the Noel Butlin Archives.
The senior archivist, Sarah Lethbridge, talked to us about the scope of the collection, which focuses on labour and business records.
Most people know that the Noel Butlin Archives live deep in storage over the Parkes Way tunnel; but in fact public access to the Archives’ 20 kilometres of records is from a sunnier location at the back of the ground floor of the Menzies Library.