The 鈥淪ay NO to Racism in Moreland鈥 rally on May 28 was originally conceived early this year and organising for it started back in February.
We wanted to offer residents and communities an opportunity to take a public stand on the racist policies of the major parties: their Islamophobia, xenophobia and fear mongering. We also wanted to stand in solidarity with First Nations peoples, who are on the receiving end of institutionalised racism.
Merri-bek City Council
The organisers of a rally against racism are adamant that the community rally 鈥 months in the planning 鈥 will go ahead peacefully on May 28 outside the library in Moreland.
The sale of the former Ballerrt Mooroop Indigenous College site in Glenroy, Victoria has been put on hold indefinitely following a traditional owner settlement claim. Those campaigning to keep it in the public's hands are celebrating the decision, which makes the dream of turning it into a community hub a step closer.
Moreland councilors voted on October 26 to elect Sam Ratnam as the first Green mayor. Left Labor councilor Lita Gillies was voted in as her deputy. I voted for the Green mayor to break the stranglehold of the two big-business parties, Liberal and Labor. The Labor Party has controlled the Moreland council for many years.
However I was surprised that, immediately after electing the mayor, the Greens councillors voted for Liberal Party councillor Rob Thompson to be her deputy.
Moreland City Council voted unanimously to divest from fossil fuels on October 7. It is the first Australian council to do so.
Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton, who has been working with 350.org and Climate Action Moreland on the campaign, said it was a 鈥渢ribute to their hard work over almost three years鈥.
Greens councillors have also supported the campaign from the start.
鈥淟ast night, we crossed the final hurdle and decided to divest. Without the grassroots campaign, councillors would never have done this,鈥 Bolton said.
The announcement on September 9 that Australia will accept only 12,000 refugees from Syria and that the government will seek to discriminate on the basis of ethnicity and religion is further proof that the government is lying about leading the world in welcoming refugees.
Socialist Alliance鈥檚 Sue Bolton spoke to 91自拍论坛 Weekly鈥檚 Dave Holmes about her work as an elected socialist local councillor in Moreland, a municipality in Melbourne.
This is the fourth in a series of interviews with Bolton. You can find the whole interview at .
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Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton spoke to Dave Holmes about her work as an elected socialist local councillor in Moreland, a municipality in Melbourne. This is the second of a series of interviews with Sue Bolton.
Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton spoke to Dave Holmes about her work as an elected socialist local councillor in Moreland, a municipality in Melbourne.
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You were elected to the Moreland City Council for Socialist Alliance in October 2012. Many of the themes and issues raised in your campaign struck a chord with a wide range of people. There was also a fair bit of accident and luck: you headed up a ballot with 24 names on it and the ALP ticket was split.
The City of Moreland became the first council in Victoria to rule out direct investments in fossil fuels and the first council in Australia to start developing a strategy to move investments away from financial institutions that fund fossil fuel developments, after a vote at its October 8 meeting.
Sue Bolton was elected to Moreland City Council in north Melbourne in November 2012 on the platform of 鈥渃ommunity need not developer greed鈥. As a member of the Socialist Alliance, Bolton sees it as important to take up the 鈥渂read and butter鈥 issues as well as broader social justice issues.
In last month鈥檚 Victorian local council elections, the Socialist Alliance鈥檚 Sue Bolton was elected to Moreland City Council in Melbourne鈥檚 north. 91自拍论坛 Weekly鈥檚Susan Price asked Bolton about her immediate plans for the council and what sets her apart from other councillors.
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We are going to of members of Socialist Alliance, plus other people who supported the campaign or support the victory that we鈥檝e had, to work out a plan of action.
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