Anti-Censorship Protests around Australia on Friday 28th May and Sunday 30th May 1999

On 28th and 30th May 1999, a remarkable event in the history of the Australian Internet was observed around the country. Netizens gathered in their hundreds at venues in all the mainland capitals to protest the government's ill-conceived Internet censorship legislation.

This is a chronicle of these events.

May 28 rally

Brisbane

250 rallied in the Roma Street Forum and most of the crowd then participated in a march to the Commonwealth Parliamentary offices in downtown Brisbane where a resolution was presented to Bob Katter, MP.

Sydney

Around 500 people attended a rally in Hyde Park and then participated in a march to the offices of the Australian Broadcasting Authority.

Melbourne

About 120-130 attended a seminar on censorship at the State Library of Victoria. After the seminar, a crowd of 250 rallied outside the library.

Adelaide

About 250 people attended a rally on May 30, followed by a book burning in which a number of pertinent books were sacrificed.

Perth

300-400 people turned out for the march from the Esplanade to Forest Chase, where others joined in for a protest rally.


News on the Senate Petition

The collection of signatures for the petition to the Senate has now closed and the petition has been forwarded to a Senator for tabling. The text of the petition is available here.