Occupy Sydney Re Occupation Call

 

Occupy Sydney call to reoccupy

All old & new Faces welcome

Occupy Sydney Twitter  New Occupiers Twitter

6 a.m meeting decided NOT to reoccupy at this stage as current occupiers seem to be trying to go 24-7. We have sufficient equipment and new literature ready to print. We will support the current "occupation" in principle if they choose to,but not on the ground. We do not agree with their presentation to the extent that we will not associate with it. In addition current occupiers discarded much of the equipment (which they deemed rubbish) such as heavy duty tarps needed to secure a permanent occupation. We are on standby and now willing and able to deploy a 24-7 occupation with 24 hours notice- at Elizabeth St site.

occupy sydney ,original sign from the original re occupation
when Che,Hugo ,Lily ,Christian,Lance and Peter reoccupied. 

  An autonomous group including people well known within Occupy Sydney and some fresh blood are planning a 24 / 7 re occupation at the abandoned Elizabeth St site which served us so well for so long. 
  
  As a direct response to the police raid on Occupy Sydney this (Friday) morning , and the subsequent abandonment of the occupation , and the subsequent failure of an emergency General Assembly called at 9am at the Downing Centre to convene or properly conduct business (due to Lilys Court matter) this autonomous call is for an Occupy Sydney General Assembly to convene on Wednesday 6pm at the Martin Place and Elizabeth St site with the intention of re-establishing a twenty four hour, seven day a week occupation at that site. Intending occupiers please bring sleeping bags.  

  We envisage that the occupation will not seek confrontation, rather focussing on delivering the core message "We want change", listening to and including the public in a necessary discussion. Much of the equipment necessary to rebuild the occupation is no longer in our possession so we will be seeking logistical support supplies of the following are required.

• Pamphlets Posters & Printed Matter.
• Banners Paints & Banner Making Materials
• Top-Display Units - max height about 500-600mm. 
• Heavy Duty Tarps- Plastic Banner material Type especially welcome.
• Corflute - for signage.

 Note: This proposed reoccupation will be cancelled should others choose to re establish a twenty four seven occupation at either site. It is not the intent of the proponents to oppose or replicate ANY PERMANENT occupation... 

This action has been called autonomously by a group associated with Lanz an occupier.

Another Police Raid on Occupy Sydney this Morning

  Occupy Sydney have called an emergency General Assembly outside the Downing Centre this morning following a dawn raid by NSW POLICE. A recent acquisition, an outsized box on wheels, has been declared property no grata and removed by occupiers from site. Police also removed property using a City of Sydney council truck to do so.
There were no arrests.
Complaints about the site are known to have been accumulating since last friday, when the current occupier group chose to relocate abandoning essential infrastructure (said to be have generated a council complaint). 
 All occupy supporters are urged to attend an emergency General Assembly at 9am at the Downing Centre (cnr Elizabeth & Liverpool Sts) immediately preceding Lilys Court case.

Occupy the Courts: Lilys Camping persecution :Charles Waterstreet Representing...

Lily Hatten challenges Police camping persecution in Court

   This should be fun!! NSW Police once again provide you the public and Occupy Sydney people with the rare opportunity to turn our often dour and staid Courts into a circus. The lucky presiding Judge is sure to be entertained as esteemed counsel and Occupy Sydney master of ceremonies for the day Charles Waterstreet applies his unique brand of witticism laced cutting edge legal knowledge to Lilys benefit and NSW Police's detriment. A loss in this case for Lily is highly improbable and we wish her well...


 the rest based on an email by Jacqui 


Lily Nancy Hatten is one of Occupy Sydney's youngest, and she has been one of the most enduring and inspiring presences at Martin Place since October last year. Hatten has her hearing for a 'staying overnight' charge from the Occupy Sydney big eviction on February 2. This is Occupy Sydney's first hearing on 'staying overnight' and thus it is a very important test case in the same vein as Lance Priestly's 'camping' case on January 10.

Hatten has secured pro-bono representation by high-profile barrister Charles Waterstreet - infamously known throughout Australia as the real life maverick lawyer and prankster identity behind the popular ABC TV series Rake. Waterstreet supports Occupy Sydney and has a special interest in women groups within the Occupy movement. Proceedings will start at 9.30am tomorrow at the Downing Centre, and it is predicted to be a very interesting, lively and possibly even entertaining hearing!

Oz Govt $275m bailout of Transnational General Motors

The Gillard Government has kindly provided another $200m of your tax dollars to General Motors Holden after threats that the company could withdraw manufacturing from Australia... more 
 In January Ford was the beneficiary of a similar $100m bailout...  


 While labor union AMWU understandably enthuse over the deal , concerns have been expressed both locally and internationally. In Canada Chrysler and General Motors received $14.5billion in taxpayers largesse   while the USA taxpayer contributed $24.9billion to automakers .

 In Canada the Public auto bailout cost $474,000 per GM employee

Occupy Sydney Radio Occupy Updates NewTribez Radio

Occupy Sydney 's Radio Occupy Updates

8pm this Wednesday ADST ( 9am GMT )

newtribez.net

Occupy Sydney has partnered with @NovakaynPeace and NewTribez.net  to bring you a one hour weekly Occupy  Radio Show on NewTribez Radio .  


 Our Pilot show will use a mix of music and Change advocacy to provide stimulation and stress relief bundled in a one hour package. 

  Voices from Occupy Sydney and other Occupii will deliver the aspirations of Occupy while Julian Assange's mum Christine will also feature prominently. Thanks to all who made the show possible.....


To become a voice of Occupy on the next or Future Radio Occupy Updates weekly shows simply record your message (audio or video) & send to this email .


heres Christine Assange...

and Novakayn Peace Activists

May 12 call Millions on the Streets

There is a call for the millions to take to the streets on May 12th 2012. Will Occupy Sydney  be involved?? Thats up to our General Assembly at the moment but efforts to mobilise should be made soon if we are going to act... 

They said the movement was dead. That the indignation had subsided. That rage and frustration alone was never a sustainable motivation for continued resistance against the scourges of financial capitalism and the farce of our so-called representative democracy... (more)

ON MAY 12 2011, WALL STREET WAS THE PEOPLE'S TERRITORY For years, American working families have shouldered the burden of an economic crisis they didn’t create, while those who caused it now reap record-high profits.  Last Thursday, tens of thousands of us stormed the belly of the beast, Wall Street, to demonstrate...more

How will Occupy Sydney and the Occupy Movement in Australia respond???

Occupy Sydney Occupy Serco

Occupy Sydney Occupy Serco - No Privatisation of Sydney Ferries & No Ferries for Serco

Taking Root :: Occupy Sydney Movie Fri Mar 17

Taking Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy—a movement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration.


Planting trees for fuel, shade, and food is not something that anyone would imagine as the first step toward winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet with that simple act Wangari Maathai, a woman born in rural Kenya, started down the path that reclaimed her country’s land from 100 years of deforestation, provided new sources of food and income to rural communities, gave previously impoverished and powerless women a vital political role in their country, and ultimately helped to bring down Kenya's twenty-four-year dictatorship. ... more at ... http://takingrootfilm.com/about.htm

Occupy Sydney 's 1st podcast : May 1 General Strike

 Occupy Sydney promised the world a weekly podcast & here is the first edition. Focussing on the Occupy Sydney call for a Mayday General Strike, Jacob Hugo and Tim discuss our reasons and this exciting worldwide initiative.


  Our aim is to facilitate the people to questions and stimulate the discussion which will bring about the change necessary to end corporate greed. 

Download this podcast

Occupy Sydney hope you find our inaugural weekly podcast informative.

 Do you have an Occupy related issue to make the subject you would like to make into a podcast? Email occupysydneymedia@gmail.com attn: Hugo

Occupy Sydney Constitutional Challenge gets underway

Add caption

  The Constitutional challenge by Occupy Sydney began its somewhat drawn out sojourn through the High Court today with Occupy Sydney 's legal pivot Wenny again pulling everything together. Occupy Sydney are asking the Court to determine whether the Crown and City of Sydney are infringing on Occupy Sydney participants rights to protest by misapplying and wilfully misinterpreting regulations designed to deal with Camping and Staying Overnight. The case arises from the brutal suppression of the original Occupy Sydney occupation by over 100 NSW Police Riot cops in a pre dawn raid on October 23rd in what appears to be the first instance of riot police being used to enforce a City ordinance. In a tactical approach calculated to intimidate and cause fear amongst Occupy participants Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch sprung the assault unannounced, later claiming that "negotiations with leaders" had failed. Occupy Sydney has no leaders. Orders issued by Murdoch giving sleeping occupiers 10 minutes to gather posessions and leave were physically impossible to comply with and possibly illegal on that basis alone. Police then proceeded to brutally remove protesters while smashing protest equipment much of which they then threw in a dumpster truck. 

 The police focus on destroying Political banners placards and posters gives lie to the most disturbing aspect of the raid being the use of police to carry out the political will of elements within government . Occupy Sydney participants contend that police actions are beyond their role in society AND prioritise the desire to eliminate our peaceful protest over the rule of law. When government and police desired objectives are enforced in place of the law the state holds its interests superior to those of the people.  Tyranny becomes the order of the day and State Terrorism arrives. As participants in the Occupy Sydney movement we have seen the result as fear of police violence police intimidation and legal process consequences achiev ed via the subversion of law have caused many participants to back away from the subsequent  occupation. Many potential occupiers have expressed that they are deterred from occupying by fear of these consequences as police continued to raid the Occupy Sydney occupation up to four times daily. 

 The Occupy Sydney Occupation has successfully resisted an unrelenting and unprovoked stream of offensives by NSW police with much property taken and over 90 arrests. There has not been a single evidence based conviction of an Occupy Sydney occupier.  

Despite the NSW Governments strategy of driving fear among Occupy Sydney participants and supporters while raising the cost in material terms of delivering our anti corporate greed message Occupy Sydney remain committed to driving change from the pervading corporate dominance of society today while breaking down the barriers placed before us by pro corporate elements within government.

You can help Occupy Sydney . Occupy Sydney can help you

You can help Occupy Sydney .

Occupy Sydney can help you

The world is currently in a state of enormous change & the pace is quickening, we are faced with a global state of crisis - financial, environmental, chemical, human & spiritual.  Australia has until now managed to escape much of this crisis however, the ripple effect is coming & 2012 is the year when we too will start to experience the day to day impacts of global crisis en mass.

*There is a real risk of increased foreclosures on homes for many families already under mortgage stress. Do you trust the banks to look out for you?

*Food, electricity, transport & petrol costs continue to sky rocket.

*Centrelink our countries ÿwelfare agency is implementing legislative changes that will continue to disempower already marginalised groups & those in need.

*There is currently around 110,000 people who sleep rough each night in Australia. The Govt has the $ to do more about this.

*We have never had such high levels of personal debt & less opportunity to earn money to repay it, the banks & big business are laying off staff by the hundreds.

*Our government is not taking the necessary action to protect our countries sovereignty or that of her citizens e.g. Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal people, Julian Assange, CSG, Whaling in the Southern Ocean...the list goes on.

Australia’s Farmers are committing suicide at a rate of about 6 a week-salt of the earth people unable to cope with the duplicity of banksters and their mountains of debt.

These are just some of the reasons why we occupy. If this resonates with your experience we can work together to support you & all those who suffer as a result of corporate & government greed.

Get in touch & participate in any of the following ways -
In person or by post: 56a Martin Place Sydney NSW 2000

General Assemblies take place Mon, Wed 6-30pm & Sat 5.30pm all minutes are available to view at our website
Website: www.occupysydney.org.au .   
Our website is undergoing an upgrade so please bear with us
Events calendar
Twitter:  #osyd or #occupysydney  @occupySYDNEY @iamverysmart @occupyMARTINPL
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/groups/225599444163983/
Occupy social network: http://occupii.org/group/occupysydney?

Working & Google Groups:
Community outreach working group: occupysydneyoutreach@gmail.com

Free school: occupysydneyfreeschool@gmail.com

Media working group: TO CONTRIBUTE PLEASE JOIN THE GOOGLE GROUP occupysydneymediasupportoutreach@googlegroups.com

http://www.facebook.com/groups/313074415382939/?notif_t=group_activity

www.youtube.com/occupysydneymedia

Donate:
General Assembly :: Occupy Together Account Number: 51298S1 BSB: 802 884

Farmers Defence : Paypal @occupysydney@gmail.com mark item Farmers Defence Martin Place Occupation accepts donations in kind and money only via collections onsite.

Occupy Sydney Serco Facts

The Serco Group - the biggest company you’ve never heard of.

• Governments all around the world let contracts to Serco.

• Serco run half of Londons traffic lights and all of Dublins
• In Ontario, Canada Serco do the drivers licence testing
• Largest air traffic controllers in the world

-54 towers in the US
-Control Baghdad's air traffic
-Maintain the RAF’s squadron the queen flies on

• Transportation services are spread from Dubai to Adelaide
• The largest operator of prisons in the UK

-They increase the capacity in these prisons by placing beds in the toilets
-A 14yr old hung himself after being assaulted by an officer this was recorded as the youngest ever death in custody

• In Bradford, all state schools in the district are run by Serco
• Serco have been running the UKs missile defence system since 1964
• They also look after Britains entire nuclear arsenal
• Hold contract for setting GMT (Greewich Mean Time) time
• The Annual Turnover of Sercos Australian Immigration Detention Contract has increased by 1200%-1994 = $238 Million-Now = $1.2 Billion+

• 85% of workforce are Ex-Public Servants -all training and resources to handle government contracts are therefore already provided
• In Australia Serco have a presence military base, immigration centre, 2 prisons and cross country trains such as: The Indian Pacific and The Ghan.
• In Sydney Australia Serco run the much maligned Transport info service 131500 for Transport NSW

Last Property collected from Rocks Police

   A couple of Occupy Sydney participants went to the Rocks Police Station armed with a sturdy SUV on Sunday to collect the last of our property held by them. This property filled a 2 tonne police van when they took it- we say illegally. So imagine our surprise and consternation when after forty five minutes all the Rocks police super sleuths could find was a large suitcase, 2 small backpacks and a ghetto blaster. Gone forever it seems are our vital political signs along with a host of other valued political message property. A phrase police seem content to use is "miscellaneous goods deemed to be rubbish" -despite all property being clearly claimed by participants at the time of removal. 

Occupy the Courts live : Camping

Another Camping / Staying overnight case being heard in the Downing Centre today as police seek to use lesserl evidence, identical charges as those which the court ruled " no case to answer" on January 10th. Police strategy seems lot like trying to achieve change via political parties, getting no results, so doing it again using the same unsuccessful tactics. Its YOUR money the @BarryOFarrell State government is wasting in a futile effort to apply State Terrorism to participants in a peaceful political protest. A loss in this matter is inconceivable...more soon

The Occupation

The Occupy Sydney Occupation in Martin Place has been continuous since October 15 2011. On 23 October the NSW Police, we believe illegally, used approximately 100 Riot cops to enforce a City ordinance (based on a wilful misinterpretation). Those events will be the subject of a High Court challenge beginning 7 March ( High Court, King St & Macquarie St).

The occupation was continued by Occupy stalwarts Bob Peter and supporters who maintained a presence despite extreme police presence, with up to 25 cops maintaining a twenty four hour watch on the area. On the 5th November a reoccupation Rally was attempted initially in Martin Place, then Hyde Park. Again the Riot squad were used to break up the reoccupation group. 

A Greens City Of Sydney councillor tabled a request on 7 November that Occupy Sydney be allocated a prominent Protest position somewhere in Sydney. A bloc of councillors led by Mayor Clover Moore voted against the proposal, offering instead that Occupy Sydney avail ourselves of the same processes which have consistently worn people down and been ineffective. An immediate autonomous reoccupation of the original Martin Place space by a small group followed. 

 From Nov 7 to December 21 the Occupation continued at the original site. A decision was  made by the occupiers to relocate a block west along Martin Place to our current location on the corner of Elizabeth St. near Channel 7. This decision was effected to allow a Jewish Festival  at our original location to proceed uninterrupted by our presence.


At all times the occupation has been mindful and respectful of the publics right to use space and we have wilfully located to offer minimal impact on the public thoroughfares and resources in the area. We have expanded and contracted the occupation to accommodate the numbers or lack thereof) at all given times.

   NSW Police have adopted what can only be described as a policy of applied State Terrorism carrying out numerous raids (up to four a day). We believe that their overarching objective was to drive fear of persecution into those who occupied and those who were considering supporting us. During many of these raids Police removed Occupy Sydney property. Much of that property has not been returned.Police have stated that they have declared much of the property rubbish and dumped it. Included in the items missing are many political posters and signs informing the public of NSW Police's excessive use of police powers and leveraging non existent laws. At no time have police issued receipts for the property taken.Nor have they quoted any legislative or regulatory breaches which they were enforcing. Proceedings are in progress in relation to these matters and we anticipate that charges will flow against individual police officers and their chain of command.

 The Occupy message has unfortunately been distorted and diluted by interaction with police. Much of our time has been spent defending our right to Protest and articulate peacefully, unfettered by the government whose inertia and collaboration with TransNationals is the problem that Occupy addresses.


   Occupy Sydney is NOT a protest movement in the sense that we don't pretend to have all of the answers. Occupy Sydney know that there are problems and that unless a discussion happens among the people in the peoples forum these problems will never be fixed. 


 The Occupation is a reminder to all that public space is the property of the public- not for the exclusive use of corporations to market their wares nor a mere thoroughfare between commercial centres.Public squares are where people should feel free to discuss - if these discussions are not held now we leave a legacy of less for our descendants because we will have permitted a greedy few to destroy more in the name of increasing their wealth. The Occupy Sydney Occupation is located in Martin Place because it is Australia's Wall St -the financial centre surrounded by the National & Transnational Retail and Merchant Banks who consider us mere commodities to be toyed with as a means of advancing their Greed driven interests.

 The Martin Place occupation is here and a canvas to accommodate your questions, facilitate your ideas. Bring them to our general assemblies, Mon & Wed 6-30pm Sat 5-30pm at the Martin Place occupation. Or join our working groups

Signs For Change

Signs For Change by Bernice

Friday Night Movies at Occupy Sydney

  A regular feature at the Occupy Sydney Occupation for the past month has been the 8pm screenings of Friday Night Movies by Alain. His excellent bicycle based computer sourced projection system is totally self contained and his selection of informative Occupy related material is easily digested by the appreciative gatherings. Passersby often stop to watch and there is interest from the patrons of the neighbouring pub.


 My personal favorite of the items he has shown so far is Crude: The Movie

..or how Chevron subsidiary Texaco destroyed 

an area the size of Delaware in Equador

however the broad range of environmental economic and social issues covered speaks to the core raison de etre of the Occupy Movement. 


 So drop by Occupy Sydney around 8pm tonight or any Friday night (cnr Elizabeth St & Martin Pl) where screenings take place.

Occupy Sydney call for General Strike May 1st

Occupy Sydney

General Strike May 1st

• Occupy Sydney endorse the Worldwide Occupy call for a General Strike May 1st.
• Occupy Sydney call on all Sydney, NSW and Australian workers to Strike May 1st.

 An Occupy Sydney working group has formed to facilitate a May 1st General Strike in Sydney. We call on all occupations in Australia and New Zealand to heed the international call and for workers to express their outrage at the collusion between State & Corporations in undermining Workers Rights for the benefit of those corporate profiteers. Working Group times and meeting places will be posted on this notice and the calendar at osydops.blogspot.com as soon as available.


Other supporting sites
http://www.occupymay1st.org/

http://interoccupy.org/minutes-may-1-general-strike-22812/

Wikistrike 

Occupy Serco March 9th

Occupy Serco

follow @occupysydney & hashtags #mar9  & #OccupySerco for updates on twitter. 

March 9th

Protest @ Immigration Minister Chris Bowen's Office; 1pm ... 

• Occupy Sydney will ask the Immigration Minister to uphold Australia's Human Rights obligations by immediately terminating human rights violator Serco's Detention Centres contract.
• Occupy Sydney will call on the immigration minister to rein in the cost to taxpayers  of detention centre operations and trauma to detainees by allowing detainees to live within the community while being processed.
• Occupy Sydney to call for refugees in detention to be freed worldwide.

Vigil & Assembly outside Villawood Detention Centre 6pm...

• Reiterate the calls made at Ministers office.
• Call for Serco detention centre contract to be immediately terminated.
• Let detainees know that we support them.

No Ferries 4 Serco action leaves Occupy Sydney Martin Pl @ 7pm for NSW Parliament & Circular Quay in peaceful protest :

• Opposing Fire Sale privatisation of public assets to Serco Veolia or any other bidder.
• Opposing creeping Serco contracting of State Services.

The Occupy Sydney #OccupySerco Team are planning 3 actions for March 9th in synchronocity with Occupy Perths call for international action against Transnational conglomerate Serco. UK based Serco is a specialist in under delivering on government service contracts and over delivering on  cost.

 You will be most familiar with Serco's activities in Australia from viewing the appalling Australian Immigration Detention Gulag -run by Serco.

But theres much more to Serco in Australia. They want to buy Sydney Ferries from an obliging government. They run 131500 Transport Info for Transport NSW and provide tech services to the RTA.  

Occupy Sydney in Solidarity with Occupy F29 Actions

Corporate Shutdown F29

Occupy Sydney stand in solidarity with our worldwide Occupy Family and the magnificent example they continue to set. Occupy is the wind of Change and today solid Occupy activists and supporters will be the zephyr which becomes a hurricane levelling the seemingly omnipresent transnational corporations epitomising corporate greed. Shutdown The Corporations is a truly stupendous  action as the Davids of the Occupy movement tackle the parasitic Goliaths that seek to control our world. These transnational economic behemoths are the dinosaurs of our age. Held in awe by many yet facing the inevitability that they will completely exhaust the resources they prey on...their sole prey will then be humans...hmmm.

 

 change.org chevrontoxico.com  amazonwatch.com are some of the sites dedicated to exposing the harm these companies do. 

 As our Occupy Wall St brothers and sisters massing at Zucotti Park and other NY locations and occupiers in Portland and 70 other cities engage the corporate behemoths to end their tyranny, we at Occupy Sydney offer our unconditional support. Sorry we aren't actively participating in this crucial beginning of the Corporate targeting phase of Occupy. But we can help you and will do so online.                                                                                         Targets identified by our US counterparts include Monsanto old favorite Walmart and ALEC. In Australia unhappybanking.net.au is a sobering reflection of what happened when Banking colossus Commonwealth swallowed BankWest . A quick scan through property ownership records reveals the truth of the title :the bank that swallowed Sydney: awarded to pariah merchant bank Macquarie.The duopoly Coles (Westfarmers) / Woolworths enjoy the privilege  of being able to hog premium supermarket site locations by subverting the court and development approval processes- while causing economic mayhem with price gouging of customers and manipulation downwards of farm gate prices.Not to mention their exploitation of workers by paying unsustainable wageslavery rates. BHP and Rio Tinto has a less than perfect history of ecovandalism and persecution of locals whose crime is to exist in the way of mining projects. Anvil Mining's actions in the Congo amount to funding of State terrorism. 

 Australia is FAR from insulated from the economic crisis gripping europe and many parts of the world. Australian consumption is a primary driver of exploitation in many countries. Cheap coffee did not get produced magically. Nor did your pair of Nikes or I-pad. They were produced using exploitative practices. Westfarmers, owners of Coles and Bunnings, are a behemoth focussed on driving out the competition by exerting mass buyer power to drive minimum cost. Now that Bunnings have the lions share of the Australian domestic hardware market, price gouging is rampant. Coles prices are near convenience store levels on many items and choice is down down down. 

 Occupy Sydney must commit strongly to an ongoing campaign identifying and targeting the transnational and local corporate parasites who operate in our midst. Occupy Sydney and the Occupy Movement in Australia must identify those areas where government colludes with corporate interests to the detriment of the people.

Join our Google Group email list to help plan / be notified of future Occupy Sydney actions