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RALLY QUEENSLAND

JUNE 2002

TO: ALL Concerned Queenslanders, Primary Producers and Small Business Owners 

I wish to draw to your attention a proposed series of discord meetings, planned to coincide with the 'Rally Queensland' trek, from Lakeland Downs in Far North Queensland to Brisbane, and on to Canberra, which is departing Lakeland Downs on Monday 3^rd June 2002. 

'Rally Queensland' has been organised to represent Queenslanders who are being discarded or retrenched from the workplace as a result of the National Competition Policy, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and other State, Federal and International policies. 

Sugarcane, dairy, beef, broad-acre, fruit and vegetable, and other farmers, plus commercial fishermen, nurses and carers, plus employees in numerous service industries, in addition to tens of thousands of workers associated with these primary and other industries, are being unceremoniously dumped in favour of something called a global 'level playing field'. 

Railway and transport workers, currently surviving with Queensland Rail, are in jeopardy of mass redundancies and/or retrenchments as a result of the proposed sale of Q-Link to a multinational corporation. The Queensland transport industry as a whole faces massive job losses unparalleled in any State, particularly in Queensland, where our industries need reliable transport services to survive. 

Hundreds of men and women from the Mackay region alone will lose their jobs, directly or indirectly, as a result of the closure of the Pleystowe Sugar Mill. 

Small business owners, the backbone of Australia's economy, are being forced to compete with cheap Asian imports, and will be shattered if the GATS Treaty is ratified by indifferent politicians at the Federal level. 

When is enough… enough? 

At the inaugural Queensland Independent Forum held in Mackay on the 4^th and 5^th May 2002, representatives from Industry and Community groups from across Queensland, unanimously stated, 'we have had a gutful'!

It has NEVER been achieved before… however, we are receiving massive support from our fellow Queenslanders, unionists, non-unionists, retirees from the workforce, others battling to survive in the workforce, mothers, grandmothers and over 40's who have been scrap-heaped because their only disability was being 'over-qualified'. All of these Queenslanders have 'had a gutful' of being sold down the chute by an uncaring bureaucracy. 

'Rally Queensland' has crossed the boundaries of political attitudes, religious beliefs and geographical locations. The common goal is to give our children and our grand children at least the opportunity of securing a job in what was called the 'Lucky Country' and, to help regain Australia's economic independence in the process. 

What can a bunch of tired old workers and farmers do... you may well ask? 

Well, we have a huge A-frame mobile sign, 7.2 metres long and 3.3 metres high, mounted onto a purposely-built tandem trailer, that adds an extra 1.5 metres in length and .5 metre in height, which we will tow from Lakeland Downs to Mt Molloy, on to Mareeba, back to Mossman then all towns and communities down the eastern seaboard of Queensland, and south to Canberra via the rural communities of eastern New South Wales. 

The 'Rally Queensland' convoy will conduct a public meeting in every town and village. We will carry our own PA system and distribute 'Expression of Concern' letters that will be presented to Queensland Senators on the steps of Parliament House in Canberra. 

From the Lockyer Valley 'salad bowl' to Roma in the south, from all parts of central Queensland, to Townsville, Cairns, Mareeba and Lakeland Downs in the north, we are receiving enormous support. 

Organisers believe the mass media interest will increase as the 'Rally Queensland' convoy travels south, with a little help from our friends, of course. 

Will it work? 

You can bet your woollen socks that we will get 'their' attention all right! 

What can you do? Well, that's two-fold. 

Firstly, we would appreciate your assistance in forwarding this WebSite address to all your family, friends and colleagues seeking their support. What kind of support? We will provide times and locations of when and where the 'Rally Queensland' convoy will be, so as they can join with their fellow Queenslanders to show their support for the families effected by wanton de-regulation and rationalisation. 

Secondly, wheels don't turn if the engine is out of fuel! The mobile sign has been supplied FREE of charge, but we need to hire a light truck to tow it and for storage of the equipment for the trek. Yep, it's about some funding for fuel, tyres and other vehicle expenses, plus sign writing, printing of handout material and associated expenditures. Can we do it without your financial help? Yes we can, but it will put a heavier financial burden on those who really cannot afford it.

The organisers of the 'Rally Queensland' are delighted that they have been successful in bringing together, for the first time, groups from the Country and the City who, traditionally, have all wanted to paddle their own canoe… in most cases, without much success. 

If there was ever a reason to 'Stand United'… this is it! 

Donations to cover expenses can be sent to:

RALLY QUEENSLAND
PO Box 1919
Cairns QLD 4870

Can you give $20 to help save Queensland's primary industries and Queenslanders' jobs? Your fellow Queenslanders need your HELP… NOW!

'Expression of Concern' letters are available by e-mail, can be downloaded from our WebSite, or from the 'Rally Queensland' convoy.

Well, I guess that's about it, however should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

'Thanking You' in anticipation,

Selwyn Johnston

On behalf of the Organisers

  NOT RELEASED…  GATS - Australia Requests

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'EXPRESSION OF CONCERN'

TO: ALL SENATORS OF THE AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT

I know it is my duty to keep you informed as to MY WILL on any matter that comes before the Parliament, or should come before the Parliament.

It is MY WILL that various Legislations (Laws), passed by both Houses of Parliament, are NOT in the best interests of Australia, repugnant to my fellow Australians and myself, and therefore, must be rescinded.

Consequences of these various Legislations have included the removal of the inherited rights of Queenslanders, and are causing considerable hardships and concerns, especially to Queensland primary producers and small business owners, and include:

It is a question of the Queensland people losing their ultimate right to live their lives in the freedoms guaranteed by the blood of their fathers and grandfathers in World conflicts… and, their inherited Australian birthright.

I DEMAND that all elected Queensland Senators attend a public meeting to be convened in a central town in Queensland, at a venue and date to be confirmed, to listen to what their constituents DEMAND of their elected Parliamentary representatives.

Should ANY Senator refuse to attend the said public meeting, he/she will be held in contempt of the Queensland people, and I will vigorously campaign against him/her at the next Federal Election.

Yours Faithfully,

Signature: …………………………………………………………………………………………………

PRINT NAME

ADDRESS 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


STATE: …………………………POSTCODE: ………………… DATE: …………………...

Click here: EXPRESSION OF CONCERN

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OVERVIEW OF THE INAUGURAL

QUEENSLAND RALLY - JUNE 2002

The following is an overview of the 'Rally Queensland' trip from Lakeland Downs to Canberra, which was undertaken during May and June 2002. 

To say that it was a resounding success would be an understatement. We were delighted with the response from farmers, small business owners and our fellow Queenslanders, who voiced their support against the disastrous policies, of the elitist, snout-in-the-trough party politicians in both Brisbane and Canberra, that are crippling Queensland's primary producers. 

We conducted public meetings in over 50 towns in Queensland, with 9 more in NSW and the ACT, in just over 5 weeks of non-stop travelling. 

The largest gathering was in Ayr, where the ABC & Seven TV crews reported in excess of 3,000 people attending. Two meetings held in Mackay resulted in over 1600 and 350 respectively. The rest of the meetings were attended by between 20 and 150. The overall result was that well over 10,000 people attended our 'Rally' meetings. 

The total amount of Queenslanders who saw highlights of our meetings on television, others who read about it in local papers, or listened to the countless interviews that I did on local radio stations, will never be known… but I am sure it could be counted in the tens of thousands. 

Obviously, our purposely-built trailer with the A-frame signage was of enormous interest, and, our main focal point for the benefit of the 'unbiased' mass media. 

Organisers of this first 'Rally Queensland' have unanimously agreed that we must 'keep going' and repeat the exercise, with the next Canberra  trek starting at the Daintree River and heading out through Charters Towers to Karumba via Cloncurry and Normanton, on to Mt. Isa and down to Cunnamulla via Winton, Longreach, Barcaldine, Blackall, Charleville, across to Brisbane via St George, Roma, Chinchilla, and Toowoomba. 

The GATS treaty has the potential to cost the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Australians, not only in our Queensland primary industries, but a large percentage of Queensland's hospitality industry will be under threat, not to mention Queensland's health and education system in addition other service sectors. 

The immense interest generated by our informative venture, and the encouragement expressed by countless supporters of the travelling 'road show' concept, adds incentive to our commitment of seeing some common sense changes being made at the Federal level of the Australian Parliament. 

I trust that we may continue to work together towards our common goal of regaining Australia's National Sovereignty and Economic Independence.

Respectfully Yours

Selwyn Johnston

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NEXT

'RALLY QUEENSLAND' 

TO Canberra via Outback Queensland

Under Construction

Full details of the next 'RALLY QUEENSLAND'  
will be posted here.

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Written and Authorised by Selwyn Johnston, Cairns FNQ 4870