07 February 2011

Help build the upcoming protest

Are you starting to see those red, black and yellow hands all over Melbourne?

 Over the last couple of weeks, MAIC volunteers have been all over town, putting up posters and leafletting. 

The campaign against the NT Intervention is definately kicking up a gear, and MAIC welcomes anyone who would like to get more involved to get in touch with us. Come along to our weekly collective meetings!

On alternate weeks, we have a meeting where sit and make decisions about the campaign group and our activities. 

And then on the other weeks, we get down to activity, which also provides an opportunity to more informally discuss what's happening with the NT Intervention. On these days, we might be painting banners, working on articles, going off in a small group to put up posters, writing media releases etc. 

If you have any special skills, we would love you to share them with us! Or if you are just enthusiastic and want to lend your had to fighting for Aboriginal rights--that's great too! Get in touch.

If you can't make the Monday meetings, there are there are other useful things to do. Promote the upcoming protest in your community, workplace, school etc. We have a bunch of posters and leaflets that can be collected any time from the foyer of New International Bookshop. Getting your union or community organisation to endorse the rally and circulate information on the campaign is also a really useful thing to spread awareness about the degradation of the Intervention and the need to fight against it. 

This week, from Thursday to Sunday, there will be a range of events that will be of interest to Aboriginal people (art openings and film screenings). We hope to leaflet for the rally and gather signatures for our petition. If you would like to join in, send us an email: melbourneaic@gmail.com.
Together, we can defeat this racist Intervention!



Protest: Stop the Racist NT Intervention!
Equal Pay and Jobs with Justice!
5pm, Friday 4 March 2011
State Library of Victoria, Melbourne

Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective demands an end to the exploitation of Aboriginal workers in the Northern Territory. Under the Intervention policies, Aboriginal people are working for rations whilst living in extreme poverty with the government denying basic services. The NT Intervention is a determined attack on Aboriginal self-determination and has only lead to further disadvantage.

This rally demands an end to the NT Intervention, and we are drawing particular attention to the unfair working conditions that many Aboriginal people are being forced into. MAIC supports the 'Jobs with Justice' campaign, and we will be gathering signatures for a petition which will be tabled when parliament resumes.

The petition is being sponsored by the CFMEU (Construction Forestry and Energy Union) and Unions NT. It has a particular focus on the use of CDEP workers by the $672 million Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program (SIHIP). We are demanding backpay at appropriate award rates for all of these workers, along with an end to arrangements forcing people to work for the BasicsCard and investment in community based employment programs across all Aboriginal communities.

We are calling for endorsement for this rally, and we invite community groups and unions to march alongside us.

If you would like to support the campaign and collect signatures for the petition at your workplace/campus/ neighbourhood, please get in touch with us or come along to our weekly meetings.

MAIC meets every Monday at 6.30pm at the New International Bookshop in Trades Hall.

Support this event on Facebook by clicking here:
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183732604983257

Support MAIC by joining the Facebook group:
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=91084301876

website:
www.maicollective.blogspot.com
www.jobswithjustice.wordpress.com

email:
melbourneaic@gmail.com

Print some leaflets and posters by clicking here:
www.maicollective.blogspot.com/p/protest-march-4th.html

Print the petition to collect signatures here:
www.jobswithjustice.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/sihip_cdep_petition.pdf