March in August: thousands rally against Tony Abbott by taking to streets

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets for the latest wave of protests against the federal government.

Demonstrations were held in cities across the country, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, to protest against a range of of social and economic policies being implemented by the Abbott government.

About 3,000 protesters marched through Sydney, voicing their concerns on a range of issues, from Australia’s asylum seeker policies, to education cuts and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The president of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maurie Mulheron, told the crowd the government “simply doesn’t believe” in providing public support for education.

“It is obvious that the Abbott government has declared war on children and young people,” he said.

“It is determined by way of policy to limit opportunity. In short it simply does not believe the government should provide education.”

The government is attempting to push through higher education changes, including deregulation of fees and increasing interest rates for student debts.

Destroy the Joint co-founder Jenna Price said women were hit hardest by many of the cuts in the federal budget.

She also warned a bill currently before the parliament, if passed, would implement measures that were “a form of Workchoices” which would wind back workers’ rights and could allow employees to be “paid with pizza”.

Ken Canning, a Murri writer and poet, said Indigenous Australians had “no friends in politics”, and were being ignored by both the government and the opposition.

“It’s like politically we are an afterthought in our own country. This is not good enough,” he said.

“The only way to get rid of this government is to do what you’re doing now. Get out there and protest.”

The Refugee Action Coalition’s Nick Riemer also expressed serious concern for the health of an asylum seeker who was evacuated from Manus island to a Brisbane hospital and is now in a critical condition.

“It’s not enough to express outrage, to go to a rally, to make a pretty speech. What we have to do is build a social movement,” he said.

There were several thousand protesters in Melbourne, a smaller than expected crowd in Brisbane, and about 1000 in Newcastle.

The human rights advocate and lawyer Julian Burnside told protesters in Melbourne they could look forward to seeing Tony Abbott in the dock in an international court.

Sunday’s protest against the government’s policies and budget drew around 10,000 people, although organisers put the figure closer to 20,000.

Burnside criticised the government’s policy on refugees.

“The way they are treating refugees in Australia is a crime, and there has already been a reference put into the international criminal court complaining of that very treatment,” he said, drawing a cheer from the crowd outside the Victorian Parliament.

Organisers of the march in Brisbane blamed complacency for a relatively poor turnout.

The Queensland government’s anti-bikie laws and plans to sell assets were among the issues discussed, as well as the plight of refugees and the Great Barrier Reef.

Organisers said 5000 people took part in Sunday’s rally but police said no more than 1200 participated in the Brisbane CBD protest.

Brisbane organiser David White said numbers had more than halved compared with a similar rally in March.

The protests on Sunday followed a series of regional demonstrations on Saturday, with about 4,000 people attending marches in Goulburn, Armidale, Bega and Gosford in New South Wales, Caboolture and Toowoomba in Queensland, and Geelong, Horsham and Wodonga in Victoria.