Photos of Melbourne Protest against Bush sleepover : Melbourne Indymedia

About one thousand people rallied outside the State Library this afternoon in opposition to the 21 hour visit of George W Bush to Australia. There were the regulars such as the Socialist Alliance, Resistance, Socialist Alternative, the Greens, and a few anarchists. A number of peace groups were present, as well as Friends of the Earth.

After the speakers, there was the traditional march down Swanston Street to Federation Square. More speeches at Federation Square.

I guess the interesting thing for me was people's inventiveness in creating banners and placards, and even a giant puppet of George Bush.

The march stopped for a few minutes at Bourke Street to demonstrate some simple steps for Parliamentarians against the war. See:
http://sydney.indymedia.org/archive/features/current#9797

The rally was all over by 7.30pm. A number of buses will travel overnight from Melbourne to Canberra to enable people demonstrate against the Bush address to the Australian Parliament.

In other states:

Sydney: 5,000 people marched from the Sydney Town Hall to the United States consulate in a noisy protest against President George W Bush. At the Sydney Town Hall protesters heard from a range of speakers including Labor MP Harry Quick who will wear a white armband in Federal Parliament tomorrow, during the address by Mr Bush.

"Why should we respect this duplicitous, conniving, and lying president of the United States," Harry Quick said. "When I was growing up as a young man, I was taught respect had to be earned. George Bush will never be shown respect by the countless Australians who realise our government entered a war which was based on a deliberate lie."

The Greens leader Bob Brown told the crowd that the President's visit means the federal parliament will be closed to visitors while the President is addressing a joint sitting.

"This is the Australian parliament, this is not the parliament of a dictatorship, and it is not the parliament that locks out the people who own it," he said. "And that is the message that should go, not just to president Bush, but to our Prime Minister who has locked the Australian people out."

Protesters waved placards with slogans such as "Regime change, Bush and Howard you're next", and chanted "George Bush, terrorist" and "Hey, hey, USA, how many kids did you kill today".
Source: ABC Online and AAP report in The Age Online

Brisbane: About 200 people rallied in Brisbane's King George Square also protesting against the US President's visit.

Hobart: About 200 people have attended a protest in Hobart tonight.

Source: ABC Online, AAP reports

Quite a few middle aged people attended the protest.

I liked these home made placards

Crowd shot at the State Library

"George, thanks for everything, Now bugger off" really says it all. The foreground banner explains why.ÿØÿà

Anarchists make their point

We are all targets of the Bush administration, even the children.

It seems we are about to lose our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Local content rules on TV -

"United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick has confirmed that the US wants changes to Australia's pharmaceutical benefits scheme and freedom to set future local content rules on TV as part of the free trade agreement."