The Nominees are :
Rally in support of the Maritime Union of Australia.
Organised by the Victorian Trades Hall Council
Wednesday 6th May 1998.
One hundred thousand people took to the streets of Melbourne,
rejecting John Howard's vision of a 'relaxed and comfortable'
Australia and the Federal Government's Workplace Relations Act.
This was an overwhelming gesture of community support
for the sacked Patrick's workers and workers' rights in general.
Werribee Residents Against Toxic Dump
Wednesday 25th March 1998.
In 1986, Jeff Kennett (then the leader of the Victorian opposition)
sent a letter to
the concerned residents of Werribee saying that under a coalition government,
there would not be a toxic waste dump at Werribee.
As it turned out, it seemed that words spoken in opposition may
not always be true,
with an apparent back-flip seeing the Kennett Government put its full support
behind CSR's plans to build a toxic waste dump at Werribee.
Market farmers who were told by buyers that their crops would
not be bought if the
dump went ahead, and residents citing concerns about health, held a protest
to object
to the treatment they had received from the Premier.
The campaign was successful, and plans for the dump were dumped.
Pro Choice Coalition
Sunday 26th April 1998
Abortion is still on the criminal code in all states and territories in Australia.
The Pro-choice coalition has been consistent in the fight
to raise awareness
about these anti-womyn laws and a womyn's right to choose the fate
of her own body - freely, safely and accessibly.
Rally for Land Rights.
Organised by Coalition for Land Rights
Sunday 9th August 1998
The Rally for Land Rights was organised at a time when
government hostility
to Aboriginal people was yet again made painfully obvious with the introduction
of Howard's ten point plan for Wik: legislation that excluded Aboriginal
people
from the negotiating table in the first instance, and subsequently
eroding their rights even further.
The rally showed that many people understand that land rights
is not a single issue
campaign, but one that embraces saying no to racism, no to One Nation,
no to the uranium mine at Jabiluka, and no to Howard's ten point plan for Wik.
May Day Rally
Sunday 3rd May 1998
The May Day Rally of 1998 was particularly significant
given the anti-worker
changes to industrial relations laws made by the Federal Coalition since
coming to power in 1996. This rally commemorated the eight hour day
won through collective union power, and displayed the strength and breadth
of support for workers, and the on-going struggle for rights within the
workplace
in an age when economic rationalism has made it more difficult
for workers to organise effectively.
Workcover Rally
November 12 1997
The Kennett government's changes to Workcover legislation
stripped injured workers of their common law rights
to sue an employer for compensation.
People took to the streets in mass rallies, exercising
the right
to protest this and other anti-worker changes.
Cycle against the uranium cycle
Starting out in Melbourne on a cold Winters day,
the cycle against the uranium cycle set out to ride
by bicycle from Melbourne through Adelaide to
the blockade at Jabiluka to raise awareness of the
damage the mine will do not only to the
environment, but also to the Mirrar people.
Along the way, the cyclists set up information centres
in towns to give out information about Jabiluka and
also provided a puppet show in Alice Springs.
The cyclists were given a rousing reception when
they finally arrived at the blockade, three months after leaving
Melbourne.
Starpower Rally
February 10 1998
How is a synthetic Superhero supposed to fight against oppressive
dress codes
when police can arrest you for carrying a toy gun?
Were the cops really more threatened by the miniskirt the boywonder was wearing at the time?
Starpower's case hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court was
cause for a dance-party
in solidarity, as colourfully dressed freaks with plastic weapons and a portable
PA system
brightened up the usually dull stone exterior.
Rally for the Tram Conductor.
March 31st 1998
"I prefer a tram conductor" is the cry of the ripped-off,
inconvenienced and badly-served public transport user.
The Rally for The Tram Conductor showed that neither
our connies nor the tram-riding public are prepared
to let the ticket machines replace them without a fight.
And the winner is :
Starpower Rally
accepted by Neville Cooper - Access News
as Starpower was unable to attend
