Pacific Climate Justice at CHOGM 2024, Ayotzinapa Part 2, Dealing with Space Debris, Flemington Public Housing Rally

Thursday, 24 October 2024 - 7:00am to 8:30am
A wide shot of public housing towers at the Flemington estate and a crowd of people at the rally to save public housing.

 

Acknowledgement of Country//

 

Headlines//

 

Samoan climate justice activist Suluafi Brianna Fruean speaks with us about centring Pacific climate priorities during this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which is being held this week in Apia, Samoa, the first time that the gathering has been hosted by a Pacific Island Nation. Brianna also talks about presenting The Coconet's documentary series 'The Forgotten Pacific', which travels across five Pacific Islands to discover how communities are weaving Indigenous knowledges into their ongoing fight to save their homes from climate change impacts. Later today, Brianna will be speaking as part of a press conference and report launch for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative, hosted by government leaders leading the initiative from Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Fiji. The event will be livestreamed and begins at 11AM Samoa/1PM Naarm - you can register here to attend.//

 

Freelance journalist, writer and researcher Ann Louise Deslandes spoke with Priya earlier last week about the 10th anniversary of the Ayotzinapa student disappearances from the city of Iguala in Mexico's state of Guerrero. On the night of September 26, 2014, and into the next day, municipal, state, and federal police officers, alongside soldiers from the Mexican Army and members of the criminal syndicate Guerreros Unidos attacked six buses in the city of Iguala, five of which had been had been temporarily commandeered by students of the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College to travel to Mexico City in order to commemorate the October 2 anniversary of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. Today, you'll hear part 2 of this interview, where Ann continues our conversation to expand on how the AMLO government decided to kill the high-level investigation into the Ayotzinapa case as higher level state and military involvement came into clearer view, and how parents and families of the students marked the 10th anniversary of the disappareance of their children last month. Ann is based in Mexico City, and covers politics and culture in Mexico for international English-language media. She also writes, reports and consults on human rights (especially regarding gender and sexuality), social movements, and community development. Ann has most recently written about the Ayotzinapa student disappearances for The Nation on October 9. You can read her newsletter, The Troubled Region, here, and listen back to part 1 of our interview here.//

 

Tallulah Waterson, PhD student at Swinburne University's Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, joins us in the studio to talk about man-made space debris in the wake of this month's unplanned break-up of the Intelsat 33e communications satellite in geostationary orbit. Tallulah is currently studying resident space objects - including satellites and space debris - with the aim of improving sustainability in the space environment, and earlier this week co-authored an article in The Conversation with colleagues Sara Webb and Christopher Fluke unpacking the scale and potential impacts of increasing orbital space debris.//

 

We hear voices from the Flemington Public Housing Rally held on Saturday 19 October, which was co-hosted by various progressive left political parties and grassroots organisations advocating for public housing. The rally was called in opposition to the Labor Government's plans to demolish and privatise all 44 public housing towers in Victoria, starting with towers on the Flemington and North Melbourne estates.This segment included reflections from current and former public housing residents Beza, Jeannie and Barry, finishing up with a powerful speech from Karen Fletcher from Flat Out Inc about links between housing, incarceration and ongoing colonialism in so-called Australia. Our thanks to Danielle from 3CR's Breadline program for the audio!

On Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 October, the public housing class action trial will begin at the Supreme Court of Victoria. Lead plaintiff Barry Berih, represented by Inner Melbourne Community Legal, will be arguing that the human rights of residents were not properly considered by the Victorian Government in its unilateral decision to demolish and redevelop the towers, beginning with 33 Alfred Street, 120 Racecourse Road, and 12 Holland Court. Find out more here.//


 

Songs//

Friend - Emily Wurramara//

 

Blak Nation - Emma Donovan//


 

Winter in Gaza//

Palestinians in Gaza are approaching winter with very little to survive the season. With the increasing cost of commercial goods, families can’t afford to feed or clothe themselves or their children making them vulnerable to illness or fatality. They need support to survive! A group of folks campaigning for different families in Gaza have decided to combine our campaigns to reach a total goal of $45,000 AUD by 25th October.//

DONATE HERE:

ACC NAME: Metals 4 Mutual Aid

BSB: 313-140

ACC NUMBER: 1250 7209


Reference: Winter


 

Fundraiser for Sudan//

Donate to the $1,000,000 AUD appeal for Sudan coordinated by Project Blackseed.

From the fundraising page:

“The crisis in Sudan is demanding our immediate attention. This is a neglected emergency where for more than 500 days, millions of lives are hanging in the balance. Unlike other crises, aid can reach those in desperate need, making our collective action more crucial than ever as the conflict escalates. Your participation could mean the difference between life and death for millions.

Our goals

  • Raise $1,000,000 for Sudan

  • Provide immediate relief to those facing acute malnutrition and food insecurity

  • Raise awareness about Sudan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis

  • Highlight global fundraisers on our page to unite people and bring attention to this overlooked humanitarian crisis

  • To have as many people post about this as possible

Follow Project Blackseed on Instagram for more details.”//