Divestment as a powerful tactic
Our universities are under attack not just from successive governments led by the major parties, but from the powerful corporate interests pulling their strings. But divestment can be used as a tool to benefit both the environment and our sector. We saw the power of corporate interests when Kevin Rudd tried to introduce a reasonable tax on the mining of non-renewable resources, similar to the tax on oil extraction by the Norwegian Government which has resulted in a massive 'sovereign wealth fund' for that country's future. In Australia, however, the mining industry outspent the Government tenfold, funding a $22 million advertising campaign against the tax, which dwarfed the Government's spending on promoting the tax. The tax was watered down considerably to appease the mining interests, and Rudd was deposed not long afterwards.
How Do You Learn How to Change the World?: Learning and Teaching in Australian Protest Movements
This paper explores the learning that occurs in social protest movements, in particular' the 'ecopax' movement in Australia. The authors bring to bear on their own experiences some of the insights of the academic fields of adult education and peace studies, drawing in particular on the ideas of popular education. They catalogue some of the enormous variety of learning that they themselves have observed and experienced as activists, analysing it in terms of Newman's (1995) categories of instrumental, communicative and emancipatory learning. They argue for more attention to be paid to social movements as important sites of learning; and for greater recognition within education institutions of the knowledge and understandings which people gain for their involvement in protest politics. The paper concludes by linking learning and teaching in the contemporary 'ecopax' movement to the much longer traditions of radical adult education tied to movements for social change.
The Art of Nonviolence
Despite much evidence of its effectiveness, nonviolence has not gained widespread recognition by the media (Summy, 2000, pp. 4-S), with the success of campaigns being attributed to their leaders or some ill-defined "people power". Similarly, the arts feature in many nonviolentcampaigns, yet have gained little credence as an effective tool of nonviolence. They are often mentioned in the media; for example, at the 1979 anti-logging protest at Terania Creek, NSW, the Good Weekend reported that '...bead-wearing hippies and rainbow greenies...blocked the road and played flutes, mandolins and drums. They danced, sang, wailed and chanted to the frustrated police and furious loggers wielding chainsaws and still cutting down huge trees' (Hawley, 2003, p. 19). Yet these arts have rarely been studied in depth, particularly with regard to how they accord with nonviolence praxis. Even within protest movements some do not consider the arts "frontline" activism. This view continues a dualistic philosophy which views direct confrontation as being the most effective form of social change. It perpetuates the machismo of patriarchal politics, and the paradigm condoning violence as an acceptable means of conflictresolution. Many feminists have rightly been critical of such a view (Schmah,1998, pp. 31-33).This article argues that the arts are an important part of nonviolence, contributing to campaigns in a myriad of ways. After a literature review, the article briefly explores tenets of nonviolence that relate to artistic activism. It presents an overview of the relationship between these arts and nonviolence, while noting thatmore research is needed. It then describes, from an insider or 'emic' perspective (Kellehear, 1993, p. 21), examples of arts in nonviolent direct actions (NVDAs), particularly within the broad popular movement which advocates peace and environmental protection,characterised as "eco-pax" by Pakulski (1991, pp. IS8160).