Culture

‘March In March’ Was Much Smaller Than Last Year, But The Signs Were Exceptional

Last year it was held in 32 locations; this year it was only in eight.

by Meg Watson  22 March 2015

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

Now in its second year, the nationwide March in March protests against the federal government took place this weekend, but they were a little smaller than you might remember. Numbers in Sydney dropped from an estimated 12,000 to somewhere closer to 5,000 as reported by AAP; it looks like the national sum was way off last year’s country-wide estimate of 112,000; and if you were in Melbourne or Brisbane, you didn’t have any protest at all.

Though the event took place in 32 locations last year, official March Australia events were this time only scheduled for Canberra, Bega Valley, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Albury/Wodonga, and Taree — with South Burnett still to come next weekend. Admins of the March Australia Facebook page have stated it was postponed in Melbourne due to the large number of protests already taking place. But if that’s not enough for ya, there’s reportedly going to be another march in May against “Hockey’s next hell budget”.

I know: March in May doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but let’s just take a moment to better acknowledge all these facts. We’re now apparently in a position where we can organise pre-emptive rallies against the government’s future announcements. Also, the presence of thousands of people marching the streets expressing their disillusionment and contempt can somehow be viewed as an underwhelming event.

The ideal number of people screaming about government in the street is definitely zero.

Anyway. Though March in March is a characteristically broad protest, the people who were out in force this year did have a few clear complaints.

Coal seam gas was an especially big point of protest in NSW due to its importance in the impending state election. The closure of Indigenous communities was another big’un following Close The Gap day and the PM’s controversial comment about “lifestyle choices”. In Sydney, Greens leader Christine Milne came out swinging about the weirdly bipartisan data retention laws. Then there were the usual spate of things like: Tony Abbott Is A Dickhead and But Seriously, Why The Fuck Did Our Elected Leader Eat A Raw Onion?

Let’s review:

Here’s my personal favourite:

Also, please send your prayers to everyone in Canberra who now has this thing forever seared into their memory.

You done good, people. You done good.

–

Feature image via Hamid Farajollahi/Twitter.