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| One of the banners in support of the protest. |
Thursday 23rd August 2012
Last thursday the 23rd August, a march was held in the Brisbane CBD from King George Square to Parliament House to protest recent job cuts in the public servant sector and reduced funding within several community services.
The total number of people present at the rally was difficult to estimate. One of the organisers that I spoke with stated the total to be over one thousand, however I later overheard a police officer claiming the number of protesters to be approximately four hundred. The number of people present never seemed to raise an issue however as the protesters began a chant in an effort to coerce Queensland Premier, Campell Newman, out of parliament to address his less-than-supportive mass of displeased Queensland residents. It was hard to tell how hopeful the protesters were when they began the chant "Come Out Campbell, Come Out" that the man of the hour would actually make an appearence. When the chant eventually changed to "Gutless," it seemed as if hopes had diminished a little more.
A series of well articulated speakers made up the body of the demonstration, addressing attendees with the usual 'low-fi' megaphone to put forward a unified argument adressing the premier's recent parliamentary decisions. One member of the demonstration, Ridah, was friendly enough to stop and have a chat regarding the protest. When asked how she felt it went she replied, "It was a fantastic protest, very happy with the turnout and the loud and angry march."
The next demonstration is scheduled to be on Wednesday the 12th of September in Queens Park on George St in the Brisbane CBD as a further response to recent parliamentary decisions.
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