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Stop the War Coalition (Australia)
Encyclopedia
Stop the War Coalition (StWC) is an Australian anti-war
group initially formed in Sydney in 2003 and later in Melbourne
in 2004 mainly in response to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
and the general "War on Terror
" of which the Australian Government has been a strong ally. This proceeded the biggest protests in Australia's history, where almost one million people were reported to have taken part in demonstrations across the country's towns and cities during the global 15 February protests
in 2003 in response to the imminent attack on Iraq by the Coalition of the Willing
.
when he was to visit Australia in March 2010. StWC criticized the Obama Administration for "dramatically escalating the war in Afghanistan
", citing the authorization of more ariel bombing
s, and targeted killing
s in Pakistan
than the former US President George W. Bush
oversaw during his terms in office. StWC also accuses the Democrat
Government of increasing military threats against Iran
and of bombing Yemen
and condemns both the US and Rudd-Gillard Labor Government
s of supporting Israel
's treatment of the Palestinians.
Prime Minister
, John Howard
and his strong support of the military occupation
s of both Iraq and Afghanistan and continue to oppose the Rudd-Gillard Government's support of US wars, calling for "the complete withdrawal of military personnel from both countries and for Australian military spending to be replaced by Australian aid to those countries".
StWC protested against the Australian Government's controversial Anti-Terrorism Laws
which were revised and passed by Parliament
on 6 December 2005. The Bill includes the crime of Sedition
which had been effectively defunct since 1960. StWC Sydney told a crowd of 1, 000 protesters a day before the Bill was passed that the laws "would pose a threat to anyone who disagrees with Australian foreign policy, while compromising everybody's civil liberties
".
StWC were among many groups campaigning against the incarceration of former Australian Guantanamo Bay detainees, David Hicks
and Mamdouh Habib
, who were held without trial by the US, as well as supporting the campaigns for Joseph "Jack" Thomas who was the first Australian charged under the Anti-Terrorism Laws and Dr Mohamed Haneef
, an Indian doctor charged over a collapsed terrorism plot in the UK, subsequently having his Australian working visa cancelled by former Minister for Immigration
, Kevin Andrews
. StWC accuse the Australian Government of leading "anti-Arabic
racism
" and "anti-Muslim
attacks", which they argue are a pretext for these case examples. After the Cronulla race riots
of 2005, StWC convener Pip Hinman likened the political climate to that of the anti-Asian
racism during the period of the White Australia Policy
, blaming the Government for the riots and accusing them of overshadowing the Right Wing political platform of the former One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson
, in the 1990s.
StWC also organised the protest against the 2007 Australian visit of former US Vice President
Dick Cheney
for his role in the Iraq War and occupation. The protest took place on 22 February, during Cheney's three-day visit to discuss Australia's unpopular involvement in Iraq and general commitment to the "War on Terror". Around 200 protesters were refused by police to march through the streets of Sydney, which was under high security for the Vice President's visit.
to cut all ties with Israel
during the 2008–09 War on Gaza
. Julia Gillard
, the Acting Prime Minister, angered Palestinian supporters over her refusal to condemn Israel's bombing campaign in which white phosphorus
was used. 5, 000 demonstrators were reported to have marched in Sydney and as many as 12,000 gathered in Melbourne to protest the Israeli attacks on Gaza on 18 January, the same day as Israel announced its ceasefire. StWC and other protest groups condemned the ceasefire as a "sham".
StWC initiated the 8 September protest of the 2007 APEC conference
and visit of former US President
George W. Bush
in Sydney. Figures of protest attendees vary widely from 3, 000 estimated by police to 10, 000 estimated by protest organisers. The summit saw the biggest security operation the country had ever seen, which included 3, 500 police and security guards and 1, 500 Defence Force personnel. The then Prime Minister, John Howard and New South Wales Premier, Morris Iemma
were widely criticised along with the police for what were seen as "heavy-handed" tactics, such as the arrest without bail of Greg McLeay, a 52-year-old accountant who accidentally strode too close to a motorcade while crossing the road with his 11-year-old son, the erection of a 2.8-metre-high security barrier for public restricted zones of the city, a $600, 000 high-pressure water cannon bought especially for the protest and the removal of many police officers' identification badges during the demonstration.
Paul Wolfowitz
in Melbourne. The demonstration took place on 18 November, where the main rally of approximately 2, 000 people was relatively peaceful but in other parts of the city, a much smaller contingent of around 70 Black Block-styled anarchists
called the Arterial Block took part in civil disobedience
and fought with police. Early the following year police made raids in Sydney and Melbourne to arrest those they believed to be involved. While StWC were critical of the Arterial Bloc's tactics, they condemned the raids as "an attempt to intimidate anti-war activists in the lead-up to the APEC summit" taking place in Sydney later in 2007.
StWC took part in the 2006 protests against Israel's War on Lebanon. On the annual Hiroshima
Day rally on 6 August, while the war was still taking place, Melbourne protesters burned the Israeli flag on the steps of Parliament
which drew public criticism from the Victorian Greens, some of who's members were present at the demonstration. StWC argued Israel's incursion into Lebanon was not an anti-terrorism measure but "a war of annihilation" and "expansion".
that the Victoria Police
had been spying on several activist and community groups in Melbourne, including StWC, with an officer of the controversial Security Intelligence Group, posing as an activist and infiltrating these groups. Mick Armstrong
of StWC and Socialist Alternative
said "On the one hand you've got police saying 'we will be open and co-operate with you' if you tell them what you are doing ahead of a rally... but then you learn they are still spying on you. It's completely unjustified." The revelation of the police action was widely condemned by activists and commentators.
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
group initially formed in Sydney in 2003 and later in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 2004 mainly in response to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and the general "War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
" of which the Australian Government has been a strong ally. This proceeded the biggest protests in Australia's history, where almost one million people were reported to have taken part in demonstrations across the country's towns and cities during the global 15 February protests
February 15, 2003 anti-war protest
The February 15, 2003 anti-war protest was a coordinated day of protests across the world expressing opposition to the then-imminent Iraq War. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the war took place....
in 2003 in response to the imminent attack on Iraq by the Coalition of the Willing
Coalition of the willing
The term coalition of the willing is a post-1990 political phrase used to collectively describe participants in military or military-humanitarian interventions for which the United Nations Security Council cannot agree to mount a full UN peacekeeping operation...
.
Obama administration
StWC was involved in organising a protest of US President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
when he was to visit Australia in March 2010. StWC criticized the Obama Administration for "dramatically escalating the war in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
", citing the authorization of more ariel bombing
Aerial bomb
An aerial bomb is a type of explosive weapon intended to travel through the air with predictable trajectories, usually designed to be dropped from an aircraft...
s, and targeted killing
Targeted killing
Targeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...
s in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
than the former US President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
oversaw during his terms in office. StWC also accuses the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Government of increasing military threats against Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and of bombing Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
and condemns both the US and Rudd-Gillard Labor Government
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
s of supporting Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's treatment of the Palestinians.
Wars on Iraq and Afghanistan
In the past, StWC was involved in mobilising people against former conservative LiberalLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and his strong support of the military occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
s of both Iraq and Afghanistan and continue to oppose the Rudd-Gillard Government's support of US wars, calling for "the complete withdrawal of military personnel from both countries and for Australian military spending to be replaced by Australian aid to those countries".
War on Terror
Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005
The Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 is legislation intended to hamper the activities of any potential terrorists in Australia. It was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament on 6 December 2005.- Chronology :...
which were revised and passed by Parliament
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
on 6 December 2005. The Bill includes the crime of Sedition
Australian sedition law
Australian sedition law is the area of the criminal law of Australia relating to the crime of sedition.Effectively defunct for nearly half a century, these laws returned to public notice in 2005 when changes were included in an Anti-terrorism Bill announced by Prime Minister Howard prior to a...
which had been effectively defunct since 1960. StWC Sydney told a crowd of 1, 000 protesters a day before the Bill was passed that the laws "would pose a threat to anyone who disagrees with Australian foreign policy, while compromising everybody's civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
".
StWC were among many groups campaigning against the incarceration of former Australian Guantanamo Bay detainees, David Hicks
David Hicks
David Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
and Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib is an Egyptian born Australian Muslim best known for his extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism....
, who were held without trial by the US, as well as supporting the campaigns for Joseph "Jack" Thomas who was the first Australian charged under the Anti-Terrorism Laws and Dr Mohamed Haneef
Mohamed Haneef
Muhamed Haneef is an Indian doctor who was wrongly accused of aiding terrorists, and left Australia upon cancellation of his visa amid great political controversy....
, an Indian doctor charged over a collapsed terrorism plot in the UK, subsequently having his Australian working visa cancelled by former Minister for Immigration
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Citizenship....
, Kevin Andrews
Kevin Andrews (Australian politician)
Kevin James Andrews is an Australian politician and member of the Liberal Party of Australia. He is a member of the House of Representatives and was Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in the Howard Government, having previously been Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations from 7...
. StWC accuse the Australian Government of leading "anti-Arabic
Anti-Arabism
Anti-Arabism or Arabophobia is consistent advocacy of discrimination, extermination, prejudice, hostility, hatred, or genocide toward Arabs.-Arab definition:...
racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
" and "anti-Muslim
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
attacks", which they argue are a pretext for these case examples. After the Cronulla race riots
2005 Cronulla riots
The 2005 Cronulla riots were a series of sectarian clashes and mob violence originating in Cronulla, New South Wales and spreading, over the next few nights, to additional Sydney suburbs....
of 2005, StWC convener Pip Hinman likened the political climate to that of the anti-Asian
Yellow Peril
Yellow Peril was a colour metaphor for race that originated in the late nineteenth century with immigration of Chinese laborers to various Western countries, notably the United States, and later associated with the Japanese during the mid 20th century, due to Japanese military expansion.The term...
racism during the period of the White Australia Policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
, blaming the Government for the riots and accusing them of overshadowing the Right Wing political platform of the former One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson
Pauline Hanson
Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a political party with a populist and anti-multiculturalism platform...
, in the 1990s.
StWC also organised the protest against the 2007 Australian visit of former US Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
for his role in the Iraq War and occupation. The protest took place on 22 February, during Cheney's three-day visit to discuss Australia's unpopular involvement in Iraq and general commitment to the "War on Terror". Around 200 protesters were refused by police to march through the streets of Sydney, which was under high security for the Vice President's visit.
2008–09 War on Gaza
StWC called on the Rudd GovernmentRudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
to cut all ties with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
during the 2008–09 War on Gaza
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
The Gaza War, known as Operation Cast Lead in Israel and as the Gaza Massacre in the Arab world, was a three-week bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israel, and hundreds of rocket attacks on south of Israel which...
. Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, the Acting Prime Minister, angered Palestinian supporters over her refusal to condemn Israel's bombing campaign in which white phosphorus
White phosphorus (weapon)
White phosphorus is a material made from a common allotrope of the chemical element phosphorus that is used in smoke, tracer, illumination and incendiary munitions. Other common names include WP, and the slang term "Willie Pete," which is dated from its use in Vietnam, and is still sometimes used...
was used. 5, 000 demonstrators were reported to have marched in Sydney and as many as 12,000 gathered in Melbourne to protest the Israeli attacks on Gaza on 18 January, the same day as Israel announced its ceasefire. StWC and other protest groups condemned the ceasefire as a "sham".
2007 APEC conference
APEC Australia 2007
APEC Australia 2007 was a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2007...
and visit of former US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in Sydney. Figures of protest attendees vary widely from 3, 000 estimated by police to 10, 000 estimated by protest organisers. The summit saw the biggest security operation the country had ever seen, which included 3, 500 police and security guards and 1, 500 Defence Force personnel. The then Prime Minister, John Howard and New South Wales Premier, Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...
were widely criticised along with the police for what were seen as "heavy-handed" tactics, such as the arrest without bail of Greg McLeay, a 52-year-old accountant who accidentally strode too close to a motorcade while crossing the road with his 11-year-old son, the erection of a 2.8-metre-high security barrier for public restricted zones of the city, a $600, 000 high-pressure water cannon bought especially for the protest and the removal of many police officers' identification badges during the demonstration.
2006 G20 summit
StWC was involved in the protest of the 2006 G20 summit and visit of former US Deputy Secretary of DefenseUnited States Deputy Secretary of Defense
The Deputy Secretary of Defense is the second-highest ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Deputy Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate...
Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Dundes Wolfowitz is a former United States Ambassador to Indonesia, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, President of the World Bank, and former dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University...
in Melbourne. The demonstration took place on 18 November, where the main rally of approximately 2, 000 people was relatively peaceful but in other parts of the city, a much smaller contingent of around 70 Black Block-styled anarchists
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
called the Arterial Block took part in civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
and fought with police. Early the following year police made raids in Sydney and Melbourne to arrest those they believed to be involved. While StWC were critical of the Arterial Bloc's tactics, they condemned the raids as "an attempt to intimidate anti-war activists in the lead-up to the APEC summit" taking place in Sydney later in 2007.
2006 War on Lebanon
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
Day rally on 6 August, while the war was still taking place, Melbourne protesters burned the Israeli flag on the steps of Parliament
Parliament House, Melbourne
Parliament House in Melbourne, located at Spring Street in East Melbourne at the edge of the Melbourne city centre, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 .- History :In 1851, even before the colony of Victoria acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor...
which drew public criticism from the Victorian Greens, some of who's members were present at the demonstration. StWC argued Israel's incursion into Lebanon was not an anti-terrorism measure but "a war of annihilation" and "expansion".
Police monitoring
In 2008 it was revealed through The AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
that the Victoria Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
had been spying on several activist and community groups in Melbourne, including StWC, with an officer of the controversial Security Intelligence Group, posing as an activist and infiltrating these groups. Mick Armstrong
Mick Armstrong
Mick Armstrong is a socialist activist and author based in Melbourne, Australia. He is one of the founding members of the Trotskyist organisation Socialist Alternative and was also one of the Austudy Five....
of StWC and Socialist Alternative
Socialist Alternative (Australia)
Socialist Alternative is a Trotskyist political organisation in Australia formed by an expulsion from the former International Socialist Organisation in 1995. It is one of the largest groups of the Australian far Left, claiming to have the largest active membership. With branches across...
said "On the one hand you've got police saying 'we will be open and co-operate with you' if you tell them what you are doing ahead of a rally... but then you learn they are still spying on you. It's completely unjustified." The revelation of the police action was widely condemned by activists and commentators.
Associates and notable supporters
StWC has no formal membership but is made up of and organised by several groups, organisations and individuals. The following (although not exclusively) have been involved in either directly organising, supporting or working alongside StWC:- AID/WATCH
- Andrew Ferguson
- Anti-APEC Network
- Anti-Bases Coalition
- Architects for Peace
- Australian DemocratsAustralian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
- Australian GreensAustralian GreensThe Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
- Australian Lawyers Alliance
- Australian Manufacturing Workers UnionAustralian Manufacturing Workers UnionThe Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, or more fully, the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union is an Australian trade union that is registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade...
- Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy NetworkAustralian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy NetworkThe Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network was established in April 2004 after the arrest and detention of medical student Izhar ul-Haque in Sydney on terrorism related charges of attending a training camp in Pakistan...
- Australian Student Environment NetworkAustralian Student Environment NetworkThe Australian Student Environment Network is the national network of many campus environment collectives in Australia. People from ASEN facilitate communication between campus environment collectives and co-ordinate national projects and campaigns. ASEN was formed at the 1997 Students and...
- Bill Hartley
- Brian Brunt
- Campaign for International Cooperation and Disarmament
- Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group
- Carmen LawrenceCarmen LawrenceCarmen Mary Lawrence is a retired Australian politician; a former Premier of Western Australia and the first woman to become Premier of a State of the Commonwealth of Australia....
- Chilean Popular and Indigenous Solidarity Network
- Civil Rights Defence
- Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine
- Committee for Peace and Justice in Lebanon
- Communist Party of Australia
- Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy UnionConstruction, Forestry, Mining and Energy UnionThe Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry and furnishing products, mining and energy production....
- Daryl MelhamDaryl MelhamDaryl Melham , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1990, representing the Division of Banks, New South Wales. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to a family of Lebanese descent and studied Law and Economics at...
- Electrical Trades Union of AustraliaElectrical Trades Union of AustraliaThe Electrical Trades Union of Australia is a trade union in Australia which has a history stretching back over 100 years. In its modern form the ETU is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union , although it is possibly the most well known of the three divisions...
- Fair Go for David
- Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth
- Freedom Socialist PartyFreedom Socialist PartyThe Freedom Socialist Party is a socialist political party with a unique program of revolutionary feminism that emerged from a split in the United States Socialist Workers Party in 1966. It is currently a working class organization that works towards creating social justice and order for all...
- Gaza Defence Committee
- Geelong Trades Hall
- General Union of Palestinian Workers
- Greenpeace Australia PacificGreenpeace Australia PacificGreenpeace Australia Pacific is the regional office of the global environmental organization Greenpeace. Greenpeace Australia Pacific one of Australia's largest environmental organisations.-Origins and Formation:...
- International Socialist OrganisationInternational Socialist Organisation (Australia)The International Socialist Organisation was an Australian Trotskyist political organisation, founded in 1971, originally as the Marxist Workers' Group until it dissolved to form Solidarity in 2008 with two other socialist organisations...
- Islamic Council of Victoria
- Islamic Friendship Association
- Islamic Girls and Women's Group
- Japanese for Peace
- Jews Against the Occupation
- John RobertsonJohn Robertson (New South Wales politician)John Cameron Robertson MP , an Australian politician, is the Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and the Leader of the Opposition. Robertson is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Blacktown for Labor since 2011...
- Just Peace Western Australia
- Justice Action
- Justice for Hicks & Habib
- Kerry NettleKerry NettleKerry Michelle Nettle is a former Australian Senator and member of the Australian Greens in New South Wales. Elected at the 2001 federal election on a primary vote of 4.36 percent with One Nation and micro-party preferences, she failed to gain re-election at the 2007 federal election, despite an...
- La Trobe University SRC
- Labor Council of New South WalesLabor Council of New South WalesThe Labor Council of New South Wales is a representative body of Trade union organisations in the State of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Council, representing 800,000 workers in NSW...
- Latin America Solidarity Network
- Maritime Union of AustraliaMaritime Union of AustraliaThe Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. As of 2011 the union has about 13,000 members. It is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers' Federation and represents the...
- Marrickville Peace Group
- Medical Association for the Prevention of War
- Melbourne Palestine Solidarity NetworkMelbourne Palestine Solidarity NetworkThe Melbourne Palestine Solidarity Network are a grouping of individuals, community groups and activists based in Melbourne, Australia. They oppose what they see as Israeli aggression towards not just Palestinians but neighboring countries such as Lebanon. MPSN is known for organising...
- Monash Student AssociationMonash Student AssociationThe Monash Student Association Inc is located at the Clayton campus of Monash University in the Campus Centre building. The MSA is made up of elected student representatives who represent all Clayton campus students on general issues such as education, fees and student welfare, and also specific...
- Moonie Valley Peace Network
- National Union of StudentsNational Union of Students (Australia)The National Union of Students is the peak representative body for Australian university students. Most student unions in Australian campuses are affiliated to NUS...
- New South Wales Teachers FederationNew South Wales Teachers FederationThe New South Wales Teachers Federation is the registered trade union which covers NSW public school teachers. The New South Wales Teachers Federation represents all teachers in New South Wales public pre-schools, infants, primary and secondary schools and Institutes...
- Nuclear Free Australia
- Peace Organisation of AustraliaPeace Organisation of AustraliaThe Peace Organisation of Australia was a non-profit and non-religious organisation based in Melbourne, Australia which was active from 2005 to 2009. Its stated objective was the promotion of world peace through education. The organisation was established in May 2005 by a group of students from the...
- Pennant Hills Peace Group
- Queensland Peace Network
- Radical WomenRadical WomenRadical Women is a socialist feminist, grassroots activist organization that provides a radical voice within the feminist movement, a feminist voice within the Left, and trains women to be leaders in the movements for social and economic justice...
- Refugee Action Collective (Victoria)Refugee Action Collective (Victoria)Refugee Action Collective or RAC, are a grassroots group of activists concerned with refugee rights operating in Melbourne, Australia...
- Research Initiative in International Activism
- ResistanceResistance (socialist youth organisation)Resistance is a Revolutionary Socialist youth organisation with its national headquarters in Sydney. Resistance is an independent affiliate of the Socialist Alliance with a strong historical relationship with the Democratic Socialist Perspective, which dissolved into the Socialist Alliance in...
- RMIT University SRCRMIT Student UnionThe RMIT Student Union Council, commonly known as the RMIT Student Union or RUSU, is the representative body for all students enrolled at RMITUniversity...
- Rod QuantockRod QuantockRod Quantock is an Australian stand-up comedian and writer. He is known for his peculiar style of stand-up comedy, which is often politically driven, as well as being the face of bed retailer Capt'n Snooze for many years...
- Socialist AllianceSocialist Alliance (Australia)The Socialist Alliance was founded in 2001 as an alliance of socialist organisations and individuals in Australia, initiated by the Democratic Socialist Perspective and the International Socialist Organisation along with 6 other founding socialist organisations, to create greater left unity in the...
- Socialist AlternativeSocialist Alternative (Australia)Socialist Alternative is a Trotskyist political organisation in Australia formed by an expulsion from the former International Socialist Organisation in 1995. It is one of the largest groups of the Australian far Left, claiming to have the largest active membership. With branches across...
- Stop Bush Coalition
- Stop G20 Collective
- Students Against War and Racism
- Students for PalestineStudents for PalestineStudents for Palestine is a network of pro-Palestinian student activists based on various Australian university campuses. The group was set up in response to the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict...
- Swinburne Student UnionSwinburne Student UnionSwinburne Student Union , is the independent student representative body of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Membership is opt-in for all Swinburne students....
- Sydney Korean Progressive Alliance
- Sydney University Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
- Terry HicksTerry HicksTerry Hicks is an Australian man who is known for his campaign for his son David Hicks. His campaign included staying in a Guantanamo Bay-sized cage on a New York pavement and outside a convention centre in Adelaide, confronting Prime Minister John Howard on talkback radio and being interviewed by...
- Union Solidarity
- Unity for Peace
- University of Melbourne Student UnionUniversity of Melbourne Student UnionThe student union, one of several student organisations at the University of Melbourne, Australia, is divided into two parts. The University of Melbourne Student Union , incorporated as University of Melbourne Student Union, Inc. provides representation for students. The service provision arm is...
- Victorian College of the Arts Student UnionVictorian College of the Arts Student UnionThe Victorian College of the Arts Student Union was the student union of the former Victorian College of the Arts , now known as the Faculty of VCA and Music in Melbourne, Australia. It was a separately incorporated organisation which represented the VCA student body. It had a strong history of...
- Victorian Trades Hall CouncilVictorian Trades Hall CouncilThe Victorian Trades Hall Council is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a Labour council, in the State of Victoria, Australia...
- Western Sydney Peace Group