Occupy Melbourne

Last updated

Occupy Melbourne
Part of the Occupy movement
Occupy Melbourne 1st General Assembly.JPG
Occupy Melbourne's First General Assembly, City Square
Date15 October 2011 – 2012
Location
37°48′51″S144°58′34″E / 37.814158°S 144.976194°E / -37.814158; 144.976194
Caused by Economic inequality, corporate influence over government, inter alia.
Methods Demonstration, occupation, protest, street protesters
Number
2,500 at peak (150 sleeping at peak)
Arrests and injuries
Injuries2 police, 43 protesters
Arrested112 (no charges)

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 [1] [2] 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. [3] From 2 November 2011, Occupy set up camp in Treasury Gardens before being moved on from that location in December. [4] [5] 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.

Contents

History

City Square encampment

In response to a call out of the United States from Occupy Together for global protest encampments in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, and a call from the Spanish los indignados for a global day of action on 15 October, an Occupy Melbourne Facebook group was started at the end of September by a young non-activist woman living in the suburbs. From this, two organising meetings were held, the first at a venue on Sydney Road in Brunswick, the second at Ross House in Melbourne city. At the second, several working groups were formed, a website launched and plans made to begin a protest encampment at City Square commencing 15 October.

The protest encampment was established at City Square on the afternoon of Saturday 15 October during and following a rally at the site attended by 3,000-5,000 people. Approximately 50 people slept the first night, numbers of people sleeping steadily increased each night. By day 3 most of the infrastructure was established, with power provided by generators donated by passers by. Infrastructure included two large communal sleeping tents, many smaller tents, a media centre, first aid and legal support/observers, indigenous tent, a large undercover gathering space used for art, banner painting, a free school, free library, a free shop, a kids space, a women's space and a large and ever-expanding kitchen in the centre of the square.

Thousands of people came through the encampment each day. General Assemblies were held every evening at 6pm, various working group meetings were held most days. A logistics working group assisted with establishing infrastructure and incoming donations of materials. Most donations were of food and the kitchen was well stocked with several weeks worth of food. Many political discussions were had at the square during the encampment and diverse interactions between people at the encampment and the media. The existence of the encampment jammed the commercial media discourse with discussions about political corruption, corporate greed, economic corruption, the failures of representative democracy, etc., and drew attention to events elsewhere in the world during the Arab Spring, European anti-austerity protests and the Occupy movement globally. Many celebrities visited the encampment and sporadic live streams were run.

The "eviction"

On the morning of 21 October 2011, one week into the occupation, the City of Melbourne issued a notice to comply with local council bylaws, requesting that protesters remove themselves and their belongings from City Square by 9 am, as council bylaws did not permit camping and "hanging or placing objects and things on or over the city square". Protesters resolved to continue to encampment stating on their website "we remain committed to peacefully occupying public space and intend to remain". [6]

Without consulting councillors, the City of Melbourne CEO sought the assistance of Victoria Police to forcibly remove protesters from City Square. Shortly after 9 am, 300-500 protesters remained in the square. [7] [8] The police operation injured 43 people and 95 were detained temporarily, later released without charge. The resulting milieu drew thousands into the city centre where multiple sit-ins blocked intersections and roads in the city. After 11 hours of rolling sit-ins and defence against police attacks, a crowd of over 1,000 sought refuge in Victorian Trades Hall where an assembly was held. Tram, bus and car traffic in the city centre was significantly disrupted the entire day. In the global context, this was one of the first encampments to be attacked and forcibly removed, thus the shock of the police action was relatively new and surprising.

Adam Bandt, the Member of the Australian Parliament for Melbourne, criticized the decision to remove protesters, saying "Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu and Lord Mayor Robert Doyle have made a huge blunder by sending in the police, turning a week-long non-violent protest into a site of confrontation". Greens councilor Cathy Oke also criticized Melbourne City Council's actions stating "I certainly didn’t endorse this action or decision to bring in riot police and fences to remove peaceful protesters". [9] 95 people were arrested. Two police officers were also injured in the scuffles with one taken to hospital. [10] Occupy Melbourne's legal team issued a statement claiming they had "43 statements detailing shocking injuries inflicted by police on peaceful protestors. These include eye-gouging, punches to the face and back of the head and the deployment of pepper spray, including on children". [11] [12]

Doyle defended his decision to evict the Occupy Melbourne protesters, stating that they were "a self-righteous, narcissistic, self-indulgent rabble tried to capture the city" and that a "hard core of serial and professional protesters" were involved. [13] Doyle later commented "We don't intend to allow people to set up tents anywhere in the city. We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy". [14] Occupy Melbourne called for a public inquiry into the eviction, which Doyle declined. [15] Protesters later took the matter to the Federal Court of Australia suspecting a breach of federal law by Melbourne City Council. [16] [17] The court ultimately found in the council's favour in a 127-page judgement handed down on 1 October 2013, although the court did find that some of the infringement notices issued to protestors were legally invalid. [18]

Subsequent encampments

Six subsequent protest encampments were established in a pattern whereby local council bylaws were used to impede the right to free assembly and political communication through a regime of issuing notices to comply and heavy-handed police tactics to break up any emerging encampments. These encampments included:

Following the split at RMIT, around 20-30 people maintained a minimal encampment at this location for around one week before a General Assembly decided to move to Treasury Gardens on recommendation of the logistics working group who had conducted a study of viable sites in the city centre.
Some participants used this site outside the city centre in North Fitzroy following the split at RMIT. It was attended by few people and conducted little political activities. It eventually consolidated into a steady collective under the leadership of one or two charismatic individuals before submitting to a City of Yarra request to disband.
Occupied for the longest of all subsequent encampments, situated next to federal and state treasury and the offices of many politicians. Authorities destroyed a First Nations Embassy and first aid facilities. As numbers of participants lessened, a decision was made to begin a new encampment at Gordon Reserve Triangle in a more prominent location.
A highly visible and prominent location between state parliament and state treasury, between several tram lines and next to a major underground rail station. Extensive infrastructure was set up here but few people slept overnight. Those who did were threatened by police and council officers and decided early the following morning to relocate to Flagstaff Gardens. This was a controversial decision that reflected an increasing divide between people who could sleep at the encampment and those who couldn't.
The council and police regime of issuing notices to comply made it impossible to erect any structures at this location and numbers sleeping overnight reduced again. Few people attended during the day except for occasionally General Assemblies which began to lose relevance and there was little pedestrian traffic. This was the location of the famous "tent monsters" action video that spread virally on the internet.
A left-leaning parish priest, Father "Bob" Maguire, offered space to Occupy Melbourne at the Saint Peter and Paul Parish in South Melbourne to provide a permanent location free of police harassment at Flagstaff Gardens. Despite initial excitement and establishing useful office space with computers and areas on site for permanent tents, this location was not used very often and became disused after a few weeks.

During the occupation of Flagstaff Gardens, on 6 December four protesters wore their tents as a practical joke on police that had arrived to evict them. The police forcibly removed the tent from one protester who resisted. The protesters then called for all "Occupy" protesters around the world to wear tents for human rights. [19] [20]

Local council elections

On 10 August 2012, Mayor Doyle deleted Facebook and Twitter accounts created for his election campaign amid Occupy Melbourne protesters using the pages to post demands for a public enquiry into alleged police violence at the City Square eviction. [21] [22] [23]

Internal politics

The majority of participants in Occupy Melbourne had not participated in such a movement and direct actions prior, however they were supported by many established community campaigners, political organisations and activists. The most dominant political tendency within Occupy Melbourne was a non-aligned, prefigurative, autonomous tendency mostly consisting of young people who had not been involved in activism prior. Other influential tendencies included various anarchist, Marxist and socialist groups. Many Greens members were involved though there was no official party involvement despite public support. Some ALP members were involved. There was a small but vocal faction of libertarian economists. Networks of hacktivists and some suspected association with Anonymous were involved. Marxist and socialist groups had the most influence in the Direct Action working group, many anarchists were involved in first aid, legal, facilitation and kitchen working groups. There were small autonomous collectives of indigenous, women and queer identifying people during the initial protest encampment.

Involvement in industrial disputes

In November 2011, participants from Occupy Melbourne were involved in an industrial dispute at a Baiada chicken plant, which was exploiting the labour and endangering the safety of predominantly southeast Asian women migrants at the plant, some of which were paid as little as $8 per hour, well below the award rate. The dispute involved an ongoing picket of the plant, strikes and other actions, closing the plant for 13 days. It was won by the workers in late November. [24] [ failed verification ]

A second industrial dispute was ongoing during November 2011, in which Qantas baggage handlers were disputing job cuts, low pay and degrading service safety. Occupy Melbourne was prepared to go to Melbourne Airport to support pickets and direct action, though the dispute never escalated to this level. However, the prospect of the Occupy movement acting in solidarity with Qantas workers shaped the discourse around the dispute. [25]

Results and influences

Influence on institutional politics

As in many other countries that experienced mass protest movements in the wake of the GFC, Australia, particularly Victoria, has experienced an increase in the number of smaller political parties and independent candidates running in elections at all levels of government. This parallels and increased interest in participation in institutional politics and a growing distrust of established political parties and institutions.[ citation needed ]

The forced removal of people from City Square triggered an internal debate within the City of Melbourne regarding the powers of the CEO and the Lord Mayor as the eviction from City Square was not endorsed by the councillors. In 2013, Occupy Melbourne participants successfully lobbied City of Melbourne councillors to conduct an investigation into the decisions that led to the eviction from which a timeline of events and documentation was released.

Direct democracy in Australia

Occupy Melbourne influenced the creation of Real Democracy Australia, [26] which campaigned for direct democracy and considered running a candidate for Mayor in the City of Melbourne in response to events around Occupy Melbourne. As of November 2015, the Real Democracy Australia website is no longer accessible.

In response to the policing of Occupy Melbourne, the Occupy Melbourne Legal Support Team worked with various community legal centres to publish the report "Occupy Policing" [27] which identified detailed gendered and radicalised policing heavy-handed tactics, excessive use of force and breaches of internal police standards. This publication was influential in the ongoing debate regarding the policing of protests in Victoria.

Website controversy

Since 2013, the website occupymelbourne.net (not to be confused with the original OccupyMelbourne.org) has posted numerous anti-Islam articles including one claiming that there are plans for the erection of large mosques in several suburbs of Melbourne. [28] The website has also posted a number of articles attacking various people involved in Occupy Melbourne, as well as various conspiracy theories. When quoted in the media in early 2014, several participants of Occupy Melbourne distanced themselves from the website, identifying that the .net website spread several ideas that go directly against the ideas that originally motivated the movement.

See also

Related Research Articles

Occupy Los Angeles

Occupy Los Angeles is one of the many occupy movements in the United States, following the original Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest. Participants of Occupy L.A. first met at Pershing Square on September 23, 2011. Activists came to consensus to occupy public space in solidarity with the growing movement. Occupiers first marched in Los Angeles on September 24, 2011. They next protested a fundraiser being held in Hollywood at the House of Blues for President Obama. Participants met at Pershing Square every subsequent night to plan out the logistics of an occupation set to begin on October 1, 2011. After debating potential locations around Los Angeles, people decided on the lawns around City Hall. Tents first manifested on October 1, 2011 on the grounds of Los Angeles City Hall.

Timeline of Occupy Wall Street

The following is a timeline of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), a protest which began on September 17, 2011 on Wall Street, the financial district of New York City and included the occupation of Zuccotti Park, where protesters established a permanent encampment. The Occupy movement splintered after NYC Mayor Bloomberg had police raid the encampment in Zuccotti Park on November 15, 2011. The timeline here is limited to this particular protest during this approximate time-frame.

Occupy Portland

Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland, Oregon as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. It is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011.

<i>Occupy Boston</i> 2011 protest movement

Occupy Boston was a collective of protesters that settled on September 30, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dewey Square in the Financial District opposite the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. It is related to the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011.

Occupy movement Protests against social and economic inequality

The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the lack of perceived "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and economic justice and different forms of democracy. The movement has had many different scopes, since local groups often had different focuses, but its prime concerns included how large corporations control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and causes instability.

Occupy Canada

Occupy Canada was a collective of peaceful protests and demonstrations that were part of the larger Occupy Together movement which first manifested in the financial district of New York City with Occupy Wall Street, and subsequently spread to over 900 cities around the world.

Occupy London Social justice movement in London

Occupy London was a movement for social justice in London, England, and part of the international Occupy movement. While some media described it as an "anti-capitalist" movement, in the statement written and endorsed by consensus by the Occupy assembly in the first two days of the occupation, occupiers defined themselves as a movement working to create alternatives to an "unjust and undemocratic" system. A second statement endorsed the following day called for "real global democracy". Due to a pre-emptive injunction, the protesters were prevented from their original aim to camp outside the London Stock Exchange. A camp was set up nearby next to St Paul's Cathedral. On 18 January 2012, Mr Justice Lindblom granted an injunction against continuation of the protest but the protesters remained in place pending an appeal. The appeal was refused on 22 February, and just past midnight on 28 February, bailiffs supported by City of London police began to remove the tents.

Occupy Philadelphia

Occupy Philadelphia was a collaboration that included nonviolent protests and demonstrations with an aim to overcome economic inequality, corporate greed and the influence of corporations and lobbyists on government. The protest took place at Thomas Paine Plaza, which is adjacent to Philadelphia's City Hall.

Occupy Eugene Protest event in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Occupy Eugene was a collaboration that occurred in Eugene, Oregon based on the Occupy Wall Street movement which began in New York City on September 17, 2011. Occupy Eugene included peaceful protests and demonstrations. Protesters were concerned about inequities in the distribution of wealth, banking regulation, housing issues and corporate greed. The first protest march was held on October 15, 2011. The march started at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza and continued downtown before marching over Ferry Street Bridge. It was reported that close to 2000 people were in attendance from all over the state of Oregon. Occupy Eugene continued to hold regular protests and actions until it left the encampment in December 2011. Protesters have stated that they do not have a set group of leaders. Occupy Eugene General Assemblies have met from as frequently as twice a day at times during active occupations, and as infrequently as weekly. Many committees have met since at least the third General Assembly, typically weekly. Decisions are made through a process known as consensus. Occupy Eugene's consensus process operates in a similar fashion to how consensus is being handled in New York City by protesters involved in Occupy Wall Street. Although the exact method varies from Occupation to Occupation. As of October 18, 2011, The Eugene police department was allowing protesters to camp in downtown Eugene, although city law prohibits it. Eugene police also stated that downtown camping won't be permanently allowed.

Occupy Oakland

Occupy Oakland refers to a collaboration and series of demonstrations in Oakland, California that started in October 2011. As part of the Occupy movement, protestors have staged occupations, most notably at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall.

Occupy D.C.

Occupy D.C. was an occupation of public space in Washington, D.C. based at McPherson Square and connected to the Occupy movements that sprung up across the United States in Fall 2011. The group had been demonstrating in McPherson Square since October 1, 2011, and in Freedom Plaza since October 6. Despite crackdowns on other Occupy projects across the country, federal authorities claimed on November 15 that they have no plans to clear McPherson Square Park. The National Park Service decided against eviction after meeting with activists and discussing health and safety conditions.

Occupy Houston

Occupy Houston is a Houston, Texas-based activist group best known for alleged plots against it by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigated and called out on in court by Occupy protester Ryan Shapiro, and for being set up by the Austin Police Department. Occupy Houston was a collaboration that has included occupation protests that stand in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. The planned occupation officially started in Houston, Texas on Thursday October 6, 2011 when protesters returned from JP Morgan Chase Tower to establish an encampment at Hermann Square Plaza. During the JPMorgan Chase demonstration there were not any confrontations with the police and numerous different passerby were reported to have sympathized with the tone of the protesters. That same night the police were reported to have commented on how well behaved the protesters were.

Occupy movement in the United States

The Occupy movement began in the United States initially with the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, but spread to many other cities, both in the United States and worldwide. This list article is an alphabetical, non-chronological summary of Occupy events that have occurred in cities in the United States.

Timeline of Occupy Oakland

The following is a timeline of Occupy Oakland which began on Monday, October 10, 2011, as an occupation of Frank H. Ogawa Plaza located in front of Oakland City Hall in downtown Oakland, and is an ongoing demonstration. It is allied with Occupy Wall Street, which began in New York City on September 17, 2011, and is one of several "Occupy" protest sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other sites include Occupy San Francisco and Occupy San Jose.

Occupy Baltimore

Occupy Baltimore was a collaboration that included peaceful protests and demonstrations. Occupy Baltimore began on October 4, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, in McKeldin Square near the Inner Harbor area of Downtown Baltimore. It is one of the many Occupy movements around the United States and worldwide, inspired by Occupy Wall Street.

Occupy Sydney

Occupy Sydney was a social movement and protest as part of the global Occupy movements, in Sydney, Australia. The occupation began on 15 October 2011 outside the Reserve Bank of Australia in Martin Place. The Martin Place occupation was first evicted by NSW Police on 23 October 2011. This eviction and later police action was named Operation Goulding. Another eviction attempt occurred on 2 February 2012. The protest site was removed five times in early July 2013, only to re-establish itself each time within hours.

Occupy Ottawa

Occupy Ottawa was a mostly peaceful, leaderless, grassroots and democratic protest movement that began on Confederation Park in Ottawa, Ontario, on October 15, 2011. The movement's slogan "Home of the global revolution in Ottawa" refers to its inspiration by, and association with, the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and the global Occupy Movement, which protests growing economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporations and lobbyists on electoral politics and government. Occupy Ottawa seeks global economic, social, political and environmental justice.

Occupy Charlottesville

Occupy Charlottesville was a social movement in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, that began on October 15, 2011, in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the rest of the Occupy movement. The downtown Lee Park encampment was taken down on November 30, 2011, when 18 members of the movement were arrested and charged with trespassing. The group failed to establish a campsite after the eviction, although they continued to hold their 'General Assemblies' and participate in targeted actions for several months thereafter. The group's protests target social and economic injustice both locally and nationally.

Occupy Minneapolis

Occupy Minneapolis [OccupyMN] is a grassroots collaboration that began in October 2011 with a series of demonstrations in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters have staged numerous occupations, most notably of the Hennepin County Government Center plaza.

Occupy Central was an occupation protest that took place in Central, Hong Kong from 15 October 2011 to 11 September 2012. The camp was set up at a plaza beneath the HSBC headquarters. On 13 August 2012, the High Court granted an injunction against the continuation of the protest, and ordered the occupants to leave by 9pm on 27 August. But protesters defied the order and remained in place until 15 days after the deadline, when court bailiffs were sent to evict the occupants. Ending on 11 September, the movement remains one of the lengthiest Occupy movements in the world.

References

  1. Paris, Nicola (2014). "Occupy Melbourne: A Missed Opportunity". Commons Social Change Library.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Muldoon, James (2012). "Occupy Reflects". Commons Social Change Library.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "Premier praises police over protest action". The Age . 23 October 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  4. "Occupy Melbourne setting up camp at Treasury Gardens". SBS Australia . 26 October 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  5. "Occupy Melbourne protesters told to pack up". ABC Online. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  6. "CITY OF MELBOURNE MOVES TO EVICT OM FROM CITY SQUARE". Occupy Melbourne. 21 October 2011.
  7. "Protesters vow to stay as Doyle urges peaceful end". The Age. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Crook, Andrew (21 October 2011). "Doyle breaks up the Occupy Melbourne party in the city square". crikey. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  10. wright, anne (21 October 2011). "Occupy Melbourne protesters forcibly removed from City Square". Herald Sun.
  11. "Doyle accused of heavy-handedness in halting occupation". The Age. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  12. "Occupy Melbourne welcome Lord Mayor's concern: Inquiry needed". Monday 24 October 2011. Occupy Melbourne. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  13. Selfish rabble got what it deserved, Herald Sun, 23 October 2011
  14. Occupy Melbourne protesters know to police, Ken Lay says, Herald Sun
  15. John, Faine (8 November 2011). "ecret Melbourne; Doyle vs Faine". abc 774. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  16. MacDonald, Anna (21 March 2012). "Occupy Melbourne protesters take fight to court". ABC. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  17. Waters, Jeff (22 March 2012). "Occupy Melbourne court challenge on right to protest". ABC News. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  18. Deery, Shannon (1 October 2013). "Police officers involved in Occupy Melbourne protester arrests acted lawfully, court rules". Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  19. Wayne Flower (7 December 2011). "Police conduct under investigation after 'tent' dress torn from protester". Herald Sun .
  20. "Occupy Melbourne calls for worldwide tent protest". Herald Sun. 8 December 2011.
  21. Adrian Lowe (10 August 2012). "Doyle in Facebook about-face as Occupy moves in". Brisbane Times.
  22. "Lord Mayor Robert Doyle logs off Facebook". Herald Sun. 11 August 2012.
  23. "The Twitter hashtag #AskDoyle mentioned by the Brisbane Times article can be searched at Topsy (social media)". Topsy.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  24. David Whytee (24 November 2011). "Rare victory for workers whose dignity was cut to the bone". SMH.
  25. Peter Lewis (1 November 2011). "Occupy, Qantas, Joyce and the 99 percent". ABC.
  26. "About - Real Democracy Australia". Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  27. Smith, Navina (9 December 2012). "Policing Occupy Melbourne". The Voice. Melbourne: University of Melbourne. 8 (11): 8. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  28. "Mega Mosques planned for Balwyn, Toorak, Caulfield VIC". Occupymelbourne.Net. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2016.