Central Vic Climate Action, along with a number of other groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Wombat Action Group, gathered outside Jacinta Allan’s office in Bendigo last Thursday to celebrate protest and all it has achieved, and bring an important message: democracy dies when protest is criminalised.
Avery Barnett-Dacey was one of the speakers at the peaceful rally, which attracted about 40 people.
“Jacinta Allan’s so-called ‘Social Cohesion Legislation’ is an affront to the very history before her. This is an attack on environmental defenders, human rights activists, Indigenous land protectors, and those who fight for justice,” Ms Barnett-Dacey said.
“She stands in Parliament today, yet seems to have forgotten the women who have fought, disrupted and protested to give her the rights she now enjoys.
“Would Jacinta Allan be where she is without Vida Goldstein, the suffragist and social reformer who led marches, petitions, and protests, becoming the first woman to run for the House of Representatives in 1903 — even when women had only just gained the right to vote?
“What about Muriel Matters, who in 1908 chained herself to the grille of the House of Commons, demanding women’s political inclusion? Or Merle Thornton and Rosalie Bogner, who in 1965 chained themselves to a Brisbane bar, refusing to accept laws that barred women from public drinking spaces — sparking a wave of feminist action across Australia?
“And then, of course, Zelda D’Aprano — a unionist and feminist who chained herself to the doors of the Commonwealth Building in 1969, demanding equal pay for women. Her protests forced the union movement and the Labor Party to take women’s wage equality seriously. Yet, it took another three years before equal pay laws were enacted in 1972 — laws that only happened because of her direct action. How laughable that Jacinta Allan’s own party, the ALP, funded the very statue of Zelda D’Aprano, unveiled just two years ago outside the Victorian Trades Hall. Labor immortalised her as a hero, yet now wants to criminalise the very disruptive tactics that gave women like Allan political power in the first place. Jacinta Allan stands upon the legacy of these women — but with no respect for those who came before her.”
A coalition of concerned citizens is taking this issue to state parliament on the evening of Wednesday March 19.
