The Wire

Anti-John Howard sentiment burned strongly at a public meeting in Brisbane’s city hall last night. ‘Australia at the Crossroads’ was organised by Just Peace, a secular, non-party political anti-war movement. They worked with various left-wing activist groups, OxFam Community Aid Abroad, the Queensland Council of Unions, the Greens, the Democrats and Labor. The speakers questioned what kind of country they want for the future – and damned the performance of the Howard government. Environmentalist, Professor Ian Lowe of Griffith University spoke first. Prominent QC and refugee advocate Julian Burnside’s accounts of life in Australia’s immigration detention centres shocked and saddened the audience. Michael Raper from the Australian Council of Social Services called on the government to attack poverty and reinvest in physical and social infrastructure. And Aboriginal rights campaigner Mary Graham spoke about the need for a treaty to map out ways to improve relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.