Brisbane IR rally

Gam and I made it in to the rally at Southbank this morning. After a hot and humid 34°C yesterday, followed by gale-force winds in the late evening and during the night, the sky had clouded, the winds became chilly and there was a thick layer of dust beneath the clouds that lent a strange dirty yellow tinge to the air. It really shows in some of the photos.

While the light was interesting, the weather was just downright horrible, despite the cheerful attempt at spin by one of the people who addressed the rally.

From memory, last year's rally attracted more people, but according to the police figures, around 15 000-20 000 showed up, compared with 10 000 reported last year.

There were a lot of people with young families at the rally this time around. Given the impact that the removal of public holidays and holiday loading from peoples' contracts can have on family life it's not surprising that the issue is of huge concern to people with young kids.

There didn't seem to be so much optimism, or momentum behind the campaign this year. The feeling was more one of a grim determination to remind Howard that workers haven't forgotten what he's done to them, and that they plan on making him pay for it at the next election.

Let's hope enough people have a long enough memory to actually make it happen.

I'm not sure what the sign on the left says... something about employers?
I'll get our lone spanish-speaking friend to help out with a translation.

This is Huxley the underdog, with his owner.
He was extremely hyperactive and chewed up all the sticks within several metres radius.
He barked in approval whenever the crowd cheered, and kept trying to go for a swim in the fountain.

A big thanks to everyone who agreed to pose for a photo :)