The Australian Government is hosting Talisman Sabre, a huge US-Australian military exercise in July.

We oppose these war games because

• They are held on land which belongs to the Aboriginal people.
• They are designed to practice aggression and offensive military strategies, not to defend Australia or protect its people.
• They are intended to train Australian military personnel to take US military orders – the so-called “seamless interoperability”.
• The exercises will cost well over $100 million, an obscene amount in these times of economic recession.
• They will cause serious environmental damage in a beautiful area near the irreplaceable Great Barrier Reef.

We call for people to join us to protest against the exercises at Peace Convergence Rockhampton and Yeppoon (central Queensland), July 10 – 13

Nothing Spoils the Planet Like a War!

Military exercises are an unacceptable use of Australia’s unique environment and ancient cultural heritage.  Australia is the oldest continent on the planet. We should be protecting it for future generations, not bombing it to pieces.

Talisman Sabre will use areas of high environmental significance, such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and natural heritage listed sites.

These areas are habitat to many migratory birds and threatened species. Shoalwater Bay is considered crucial to the stabilisation and recovery of local dugong numbers.  The region also supports nesting sites for green turtles and endangered loggerhead turtles, critical feeding areas for turtles and dugongs and is also home to 26 species of dolphins and whales including humpbacks and the endangered Blue Whale.

Environmental impacts include effects on air quality, fire potential, noise pollution, waste disposal and spills and erosion from amphibian craft landings and weapon target zones, collisions with marine mammals, and contamination from toxic chemicals including red and white phosphorus and perchlorate.

There are better things to do with our money!

Australia’s current military spending of $62 million a day steals the resources which should be funding human and social needs.

An extra $700 million (less than two weeks military spending) spent on public hospitals each year would overcome their critical problems.

A percentage of military spending should go to upgrading public schools, reducing the cost of university education, supporting childcare, developing Medicare, assisting the needy in our community and creating jobs.

Military spending creates far fewer jobs that spending the same dollars on civilian projects and businesses.

Only 30% of Australians support spending more on the military.

The Government gives priority to supporting US foreign policy, military spending and increasingly repressive social control. We want a focus on sustainable development, socially useful production and the needs of the community

Travel:

Tickets on the Sydney Bus cost $280 per person return. One way tickets are not available.

Thursday July 9   leave Sydney 7 am; arrive Brisbane 11 pm

Friday July 10   leave Brisbane 8 am; arrive Rockhampton 5pm

Monday July 13   depart campsite 10 am

Tuesday July 14   arrive Sydney 11 am

(times are approximate)

Accommodation:

The Council camping site where almost all the activists will stay has toilets, showers, a small shop and some other facilities.

Camping:  camping sites cost $7 per night – a total of $21 for the 3 nights.

Cabins: A limited number of cabins are available at the site. They contain one double bed and three bunk beds and cost $65 for 2 people plus $10 for each extra person per night. If five people are sharing, the 3 nights will therefore cost each person $57.

For travel and accommodation bookings, please contact Dr Hannah Middleton on +61 2 9351 4468 or +61 418 668098

For more information

contact Denis from the Anti--Bases Campaign on +61 418 290663, email denis@anti-bases.org or mail to PO Box 899, Sydney South, NSW 1235