LL:DDV: Relationships Bill Rally
recognition of same-sex couples. . . too progressive for victoria? Demonstrate on the opening day of State Parliament, 4.30 - 7 pm, Parliament House. Called by Q.U.E.E.R. (queers united to eradicate economic rationalism) "We'll fight for you" (remember the Liberal Party advertisement in the Midsumma Guide?) In recognition that 34 laws still discriminate against queers in Victoria, the Statute Law Amendment (Relationships) Bill has been introduced into parliament. We are still waiting for the Liberal Party to fight for" us. The Queer community is uniting to demonstrate our anger at the Liberal Party on Tuesday April 3rd from 4:30 til 7pm, on parliament house steps. In November last year, the Statute Law Amendment (Relationships) Bill was introduced into Parliament. This Bill seeks to amend 44 Victorian Acts which currently discriminate against same sex couples. A new legal category of "domestic partner" will be created which will encompass both heterosexual and same sex long-term relationships. The new term domestic partner will replace de facto spouse in each law. The areas of the law covered include: * property rights - same sex couples need to pay up to $15,000 in stamp duty when buying a joint property which heterosexual couples are exempt from * guardianship and administration - same sex couples must prove to a court that they are in a relationship before one has the right to care for the other in times of sickness or injury * superannuation payments * health related legislation - same sex couples may not have hospital visitation rights, even if the partner is dying * employment rights - those in same sex couples may not be entitled to bereavement leave if their partner dies * crime assistance acts - people in same sex partnerships may have difficulty filing an intervention order against an abusive partner because they are not considered by the law to be in a "relationship" This bill will not address many issues that queer people deal with on a daily basis, yet it has been written off as too "controversial." These include: * IVF / artificial insemination - Lesbians and single women's rights to these are still obstructed in Victoria, and now Howard's "family values" are making access even harder. * Adoption - Everyone knows queers make the best parents, yet no government in Australia has recognised our right to establish our own families, even though such laws already exist in other jurisdictions. * Youth Allowance / social security - young queers are forced to stay at home + economically dependent in homophobic environments, unless they can prove to Centrelink they have been abused by their parents. Reform is not enough. The limited amount of equality and tolerance that these laws establish is an inadequate response to the homophobia and heterosexism in our society. Society and the family structure are fundamentally based on the institution of heterosexuality, which excludes all those who won't conform to the ideal of the nuclear family. Same sex couples, queer families, single mothers, and women who choose to live autonomously. Heterosexual values dominate everything from the law to the church, science, medicine, education, the social security system, the mass media and our culture as a whole. This is heterosexism. On Tuesday the 3rd April, when parliament resumes, the queer community will be demanding an end to the Liberal Party's capitalist agenda of >homophobia >sexism >racism >exploitation of workers The Liberal Party is currently blocking the passage of the Fair Employment Bill, giving minimum protection to =EDsVictoria 144 000 outworkers, and workers in other industries. The queer community needs to be united in linking with the struggles of other oppressed groups. This is why Q.U.E.E.R. is encouraging our community to join in the anti-capitalist blockade of the Stock Exchange @ M1 For info about Q.U.E.E.R. contact the Queer Department at Melb Uni 8344 8159 or RMIT 9925 3707 -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:REM: Socialist Feminism vs Rightwing Backlash
Apologies for re-posting. The date and time were missing from the original. Melbourne Radical Women Meeting. Everyone is welcome! Thursday, 5 April, 7.30 pm FEMINISTS RISE UP AGAINST THE GLOBAL BACKLASH Around the world, rightwing regimes are being met by grassroots resistance. Come along to hear about international and national struggles against the likes of John Howard, George Bush and Saddam Hussein. A panel of dynamic speakers will feature Surma Hamid, organiser for the Committee in Defence of Iraqi Women's Rights; Maria Mardones, Chilean feminist and community activist; and Alison Thorne, Radical Women member and a leader in Socialist Alliance. We'll explore what drives the Right, why it has become a global force and how a multi-issue feminist movement can defeat it. A tasty dinner, with vegetarian option, is served at 6.30 pm for a $6.00 donation. Place: Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick For more information, contact Radical Women at (03) 9386 3230 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDN: Sydney Northside M1 Meeting
Hi All, With just over 4 weeks to go before M1, the Sydney Northside M1 Alliance will be holding an organising meeting this Wednesday Night to organise activities in the final lead up to M1. All local activists are encouraged to come along and help out and bring your ideas to build M1. As an example, Northside M1 did a joint leafletting session of the local youth/rock festival "Shore Shockers" with Northern Beaches M1 on Saturday. We handed out many hundreds of leaflets and got many names of people wanting to get involved. We are planning a similar leafletting session at another local festival next week (details to be advised). Wednesday's meeting details are as follows Time - Wednesday, 4th April 7.30pm Location - Doherty Centre, 7 Victor St Chatswood For more information please call David on 0407 941 641, otherwise see you there! -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Film & Dinner Night
Film & Dinner Night Films: Rattle in Seattle (N30) Capitalills (A16) Smoke Em if You Got Em An irreverent, piercing and humorous look at the apocalypse & more Thursday 5th April 7pm $5 Vegan food Pink Palace 56 Eastment St Northcote This event is a benefit for the Derail collective who are currently raising funds with the view to establishing an autonomous info/resource centre in the northern suburbs. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: new URL for Ozanarchy website
http://www.anarchosyndicalism.org/ozanarchy/ For all your web-based, non-heirarchal, anti-authoritarian, autonomous activities in the land of OZ. = http://www.anarchosyndicalism.org -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Corporate scumbags tour of Melbourne
Please circulate around CORPORATE SCUMBAGS TOUR OF MELBOURNE (WARM UP FOR THE M1 STOCK EXCHANGE BLOCKADE ON MAY 1) APRIL 11 STARTS 12:30 AT THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE CALLED BY M1 ALLIANCE FOUR TARGETS 1. BHP 2. TELSTRA 3. NIKE 4. (THE WINNER OF THE COPORATE SCUMBAG OF THE YEAR AWARD) CORPORATE SCUMBAG OF THE YEAR AWARD The Tour shall finish by marching to the winners Headquarters and presenting the Award. Those nomination forms recieved will be tallied up the day before the Tour. The corporation with the most nominations wins. Email your nomination: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone it in: 9639 8622 Drop it in: M1 Alliance weekly meetings will have ballot boxes (Lesley Clucas Lounge RMIT (city) 6:30 Wednesday Building 12 Level 4); ANTI-CORPORATE FLOAT A semi-trailor (thanks to the telstra-exposed crew) will be circling the city streets from 8am. It will be loaded with two 20 foot shipping containers dressed in banners for the M1 Stock Excchange Blockade, the Corporate Scumbags Tour and campaign organisations. PLACE YOUR NOMINATION TODAY! *= * JOIN THE M1 BLOCKADE OF THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE ON MAY 1 7:00AM START STAND UP FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE AND THE ENVIRONMENT DEMANDS: 1. CANCEL THIRD WORLD DEBT 2. PEOPLE AND PLANET NOT PROFIT 3. ABOLISH ALL ANTI-UNION LAWS - DEFEND THE RIGHT TO ORGANISE 4. ABOLISH THE IMF, WTO, WORLD BANK AND WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM 5. OPEN THE BORDERS, CLOSE THE DETENTION CENTRES, FREE THE REFUGEES *= * For any details call me on 9639 8622 Marcus P. M1 Alliance Melbourne. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Nike Action-keep up the heat
Following a very successful action against Nike last Friday where 60 protesters briefly blockaded the city store, Resistance are calling a follow-up action for Friday April 20th @ 6pm. The will be quite close to M1 and should serve as a good build up action for M1 activists and also a media stunt. Anyone wishing to get involve in building and organising the action email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or ph 9639 8622 In Solidarity -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
