Office Occupation Of East Gippsland Logging
It's alway's abit iffy on how far we'd get doing an EGL occupation
considering its extremily close location to the copshop. However it turned
out to be great timing, the New Years break meant there was only one
person in the office who turned out to be one of the slimey, corperate
heads of EGL, Garry Squires, and a security guard, and if they were
understaffed try Orbost Police on a court day they couldn't spare any one
to attend the action, one cop from somewhere however did manage to make
it.
The aim of the action was to get some accountability from EGL on the
way they carry out their operations, being a corporate entity their public
accountability is non existent. Well no accountability was given to us but
we definitely succeeded in giving a good humbug. The occupation was
carried out for around 2-3 hours with about 30 people one of whom locked
on to the toilet. The satisfaction of seeing Garry Squires pissed off made
the action all worth while.
This year the Students and Sustainability conference was held in
Brisbane. It was hosted by the Mt. Grevatt campus of Griffith Uni; and ran
from the 3rd to the 7th July. The theme was "Debunking the overpopulation
myth" - and it's about time. This is a considerable issue within the
"green movement"; with many buying into the neo-Malthusian ideology that
overpopulation is a key factor in contemporary social and ecological
problems. "Overpopulation" is a convenient scapegoat for capitalism, as it
ignores over-consumption, and resource and land concentration. It has been
used as a tool of domination of underdeveloped countries by "developed"
countries, and has furthered the oppression of womyn by justifying the
control of reproduction.
There was also a significant focus on the politics of uranium in the
South Australian desert, and the indigenous issues involved; as well as
much discussion about S11 and the lessons we can draw from Seattle.
Three of us went from Geco, and met with other Gook and Otways crew up
there. We set up an info stall with photo boards, stickers and patches;
and distributed flyers. We ran a number of workshops, including ones on
violence, direct action, and lock-ons; and had a practical day of arial
activism and direct action skill-sharing. A flying-fox was rigged up, and
people learned how to climb, tie knots, and lash tripods. This practical
element was well received as it really demystified what goes on at
blockades; and many left eager to put their newly aquired skills to good
use.
Additionally, a Reclaim the Streets was planned for the 8th July and
organised during S & S. This effectively became a workshop in itself
on what goes into organising an action. RTS ran beautifully, especially
empowering those who had participated in organising their first action.
Tt was an interesting week with people coming together from all over
the country, as well as some international guests, to share information
and discuss the issues surrounding sustainability; with the skillsharing
workshops and the organisation of RTS adding a practical dimension.
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