From: "Peter Jovanovic" <peterzoran-AT-hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: AUT: parliament house
Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 08:38:37 +1100


hi all

A few things on the 19/8/96 riot at Australian Parliament House. I sadly 
wasn't there cos firstly I was at work and secondly I was only just getting 
interested in radical politics and may not have gone even if I had been 
free. I was however treated to my ex-Navy workmates commenting the next day 
that the rioters should have been machine gunned.

A few years later at a party at an ISO member's house we watched the police 
footage of the day. I've got no idea where they got it but it was quite 
interesting. It clearly shows that the violence such as it was (OK, it was 
unusual for our boring island of social peace but in global terms pretty 
minimal) was caused by the cops attempting to stop a smallish group of 
Aboriginal people from going up to the doors.

I've also heard that the CFMEU national conference the day before had voted 
unanimously except for the union president to occupy parliament house.

I remember reading sometime later that a factory worker (and thus presumably 
not in the CFMEU) from Sydney was jailed for his part in the riot. I don't 
know if anyone else did time because of the riot.

My mum told me that several of her workmates from the National Library had 
walked up the hill for the demonstration and only found out that there'd 
been a riot when they watched the news that night.

cheers
Peter




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