Baxter Protests
Encyclopedia
During the Easter weekends of 2003 and 2005 several hundred protesters went to the Baxter Immigration Reception and Processing Centre
, located near Port Augusta
to protest against the Howard
Government's treatment of asylum seekers.
The protests were in the tradition of the 'great protest march'. Protesters arrived at Port Augusta from all over Australia
. In many cases the protesters would have travelled for two to four days to make the trip and would travel another two to four days in return. The protest would last the long weekend of Easter in a camp near the detention centre.
In both years, there was a significant amount of news media coverage of the event. There remained considerable complaints from both sides. The protesters alleged that the police had been heavy handed. The police alleged that the protesters were actively attempting to turn a peaceful protest into a violent protest by continued breaches of the law.
The offences were considered to have been incapable of prosecution. There also remained serious lingering concerns about the Constitutional validity of such prosecutions. In both cases, the baxter protesters' lawyers were successful in having the charges withdrawn.
In 2005 the police also raided the main camp at about 6am confiscating kites from several people in preemption of these laws being broken.
As well as kite flying being treated as an offence by police, helium balloon flying was treated in a similar way with police arresting protesters for possession of large bundles of helium balloons after popping them on the approach to the camp.
Baxter Immigration Reception and Processing Centre
Baxter Immigration Reception and Processing Centre or commonly just Baxter Detention Centre, was an Australian immigration detention facility near the town of Port Augusta in South Australia. It was the focus of much of the controversy concerning the mandatory detention of asylum seekers in Australia...
, located near Port Augusta
Port Augusta, South Australia
-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
to protest against the Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
Government's treatment of asylum seekers.
The protests were in the tradition of the 'great protest march'. Protesters arrived at Port Augusta from all over Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In many cases the protesters would have travelled for two to four days to make the trip and would travel another two to four days in return. The protest would last the long weekend of Easter in a camp near the detention centre.
In both years, there was a significant amount of news media coverage of the event. There remained considerable complaints from both sides. The protesters alleged that the police had been heavy handed. The police alleged that the protesters were actively attempting to turn a peaceful protest into a violent protest by continued breaches of the law.
Outcome of the Protests
There has not been significant debate about how influential the protests were. Partly because the issue of refugees and mandatory detention had been well established as political issues long before the protests started.The Kite Flyers
During both protests several kites were confiscated and the kite flyers were prosecuted with minor and obscure offences against air traffic regulations. http://www.buzztracker.org/2005/03/26/cache/502603.htmlThe offences were considered to have been incapable of prosecution. There also remained serious lingering concerns about the Constitutional validity of such prosecutions. In both cases, the baxter protesters' lawyers were successful in having the charges withdrawn.
In 2005 the police also raided the main camp at about 6am confiscating kites from several people in preemption of these laws being broken.
As well as kite flying being treated as an offence by police, helium balloon flying was treated in a similar way with police arresting protesters for possession of large bundles of helium balloons after popping them on the approach to the camp.
Other criminal consequences
On the whole the protests were peaceful. However at each protest around 20–30 protesters were arrested and prosecuted with mostly minor offences, such as property offences, trespass and decency offences. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1332054.htm In the 2003 protests around 80% of the charges were withdrawn, leaving approximately three convictions and no substantial penalties. In the 2005 protests only 50% of the charges were withdrawn. This was due to the higher number of trespassing offences, which were on the whole incapable of defending.Public Opinion
Public opinion on the protests was divided, not only between those who supported the refugee cause and those who did not, but also among pro-refugee groups. Some people saw the protests as providing no real assistance to the plight of refugees. These groups pointed to the fact that often the protests would create disturbances in the Baxter facility which would cause harm to the refugees. Others considered it a significant and important protest march in the interest of aiding in shifting public opinion against Australia's immigration policy.Related links
- ABC News Coverage of Protests: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1330235.htm
- Indymedia coverage of Protests: http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/05/91498.php