News in brief

Bust The Budget

On Sunday July 6, a protest was held to oppose the Abbott Government’s first federal budget. While organisations estimated an attendance of 15,000 Sydneysiders, police announced a more conservative estimate of 6,000. The protest began at Sydney Town Hall, with protestors then marching up George Street and Market Street. Social media platforms have since been flooded with complaints from protestors that the event was largely ignored by the mainstream media, with short pieces published in Sydney’s major corporate publications following the event. The Bust The Budget protest also took place in Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and Brisbane, with an estimated 85,000 attendees in total.

Marrickville Council fights for voice in aircraft noise debate

Marrickville Council is opposing reduced government representation in the Sydney Airport Community Forum (SACF) and demanding the voice of affected communities remain active. The federal government has proposed sweeping changes to the SACF – refocusing the forum away from its initial purpose to minimise the impacts of aircraft noise on residents and reducing local government’s presence. “SACF must retain the role for which it was set-up – as a consultative group that is genuinely representative of the surrounding community that are impacted by the airport,” said Marrickville Mayor Jo Haylen.

Protestors rally against media representation of Palestine

A rally was held in Martin Place on Wednesday July 2 to protest what was seen as collective punishment carried out by the Israeli Government following the murders of 3 Israeli teenagers. Speakers and protestors at the rally called for the Australian Government to intercede, but also expressed discontent with media coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. According to co-founder of Independent Australian Jewish Voices and rally speaker Peter Slezak, insufficient media coverage of the issue has failed to provide proper context and understanding of the conflict.