Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a lachrymator product containing the compound capsaicin as the active ingredient that irritates the eyes to cause burning and pain sensations, as well as temporary blindness. Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, temporarily taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people in danger to use pepper spray in self-defense for an opportunity to escape. It also causes temporary discomfort and burning of the lungs which causes shortness of breath. Pepper spray is used as a less lethal weapon in policing, riot control, crowd control, and self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears.
The City of Yarra is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia in the inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It is the second smallest LGA in the state with an area of 19.5 square kilometres (7.5 sq mi), and in June 2021 it had a population of 91,543, making it the second most densely populated LGA, with around 4,695 people per square kilometre. The City of Yarra was formed in 1994 as a result of the amalgamation of the former Cities of Richmond, Collingwood, Fitzroy, and parts of Carlton North and parts of Alphington and Fairfield.
The City of Darebin is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 54 square kilometres (20.8 sq mi) and in June 2018 Darebin had a population of 161,609. Municipal offices are located at 350 High Street, Preston.
Socialist Action, known until October 2019 as the Socialist Party, was a Trotskyist political party in Australia. It published a monthly magazine called The Socialist which contained a socialist perspective on news and current issues.
S11 refers to a series of protests against meetings of the World Economic Forum on 11, 12 and 13 September 2000 in Melbourne, Australia, where approximately 10,000 people of many ages and a wide cross section of the community were involved. One of the groups involved in the protests called itself the S11 Alliance. This group was dominated by various socialist parties. The success of the protest led them to the creation of the M1 Alliance on 1 November 2000 in preparation for the next year's May Day events and the S26 Alliance, in solidarity with protest against the International Monetary Fund/World Bank meetings in Prague. The other main organising network for the protest was the autonomist & anarchist s11 AWOL.
The Victorian Greens, officially known as the Australian Greens Victoria, is the Victorian state member party of the Australian Greens, a green political party in Australia.
Lee Rhiannon is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales between July 2011 and August 2018. She was elected at the 2010 federal election, representing the Australian Greens. Prior to her election to the Federal Parliament, Rhiannon was a Greens NSW member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1999 and 2010.
Solidarity is a Trotskyist organisation in Australia. The group is a member of the International Socialist Tendency and has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth. The organisation was formed in 2008 from a merger between groups emerging from the International Socialist tradition: the International Socialist Organisation, Socialist Action Group and Solidarity.
Kathleen Maltzahn is an Australian author, academic and anti-sex work activist. She is a former councillor for the City of Yarra and was the Victorian Greens' candidate for the state seat of Richmond in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Victorian elections.
Occupy Melbourne was a social movement which took place from late 2011 to mid 2012 in Melbourne, Australia as part of the global Occupy movement Participants expressed grievances concerning economic inequality, social injustice, corruption in the financial sector, corporate greed and the influence of companies and lobbyists on government. Protests began on 15 October 2011 in City Square with a 6-day-long protest encampment, from which people were forcibly evicted by Victoria Police at the request of the City of Melbourne CEO on 21 October 2011. From 2 November 2011, Occupy set up camp in Treasury Gardens before being moved on from that location in December. A significantly diminished number of protesters set up camp at Father Bob's church at his invitation until his retirement in January 2012. Physical manifestations of the movement had largely dissipated by mid-2012 though it adopted a strategy of decentralisation and became influential in the creation of new community networks, affinity groups and collectives.
Dawn Elizabeth Walker is an Australian former politician. She was appointed as a Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council on 22 February 2017 to fill a casual vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jan Barham, and served until her defeat at the 2019 state election.
Stephen Jolly is an Australian politician, socialist activist, author and construction worker. He currently serves as the mayor of Yarra and has been a councillor of the City of Yarra since 2004, initially representing Langridge Ward before being elected to MacKillop Ward in 2024.
This is a list of protests in March 2020 that were part of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. Protests activities largely centered around anniversaries of major events of the protests in 2019; there were also gatherings in shopping malls. Due to the growth of cases of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city – which would not be checked until April –, the protests were generally of considerably smaller size than before the pandemic. Police drew the dissatisfaction of demonstrators and pro-democratic politicians for their heavy-handed tactics, and for their perceived overuse of coronavirus restriction policies to dissolve rallies.
Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have occurred around the world. There have been several protests against lockdowns and other restrictions introduced by the Commonwealth and state governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia since 2020. Some joining protests have also been against vaccinations, while others have also subscribed to various conspiracy theories or misinformation about COVID-19. Protests have been held in several state capitals, with most occurring in including Sydney and Melbourne. While some protests were peaceful, others ended in clashes between protesters and police. Australian police have issued fines against protesters for breaching lockdown restrictions.
Blockade Australia is a direct action group in Australia who blockade rail and roads in ports to "force the urgent broad-scale change necessary for survival". They describe themselves as "committed to taking the action necessary to disrupt economic bottlenecks of Australia and stop the exploitative colonial project". Direct action is also used to inform the public 'that the climate crisis is a threat to life on earth, that the systems that are in power on this continent and around the world are causing the crisis and have no capacity, let alone will, to change.
The 2020 Victorian local elections were held on 24 October 2020 to elect the councils of 76 of the 79 local government areas in Victoria, Australia.
The 2024 Victorian local elections were held on 26 October 2024 to elect the councils of 78 of the 79 local government areas (LGAs) in Victoria, Australia. The elections were conducted by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), with voting taking place via post throughout October to elect 647 councillors across the state.
The 2016 Victorian local elections were held on 22 October 2016 to elect the councils of the 79 local government areas in Victoria, Australia.
The 2008 Victorian local elections were held on 29 November 2008 to elect the councils of the 79 local government areas in Victoria, Australia.
In Melbourne, there has been a pro-Palestinian march every Sunday beginning in front of the State Library Victoria since 7 October, starting on 10 October. This march usually ends at Parliament House, but on 5 May the march proceeded to Victorian Trades Hall, and lead their annual May Day march through the city and back to the Trades Hall.
