Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition

Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (13:17): Tomorrow the world’s top weapons companies will arrive in Melbourne for the Land Forces weapons expo. This three-day weapons trade fair is only made possible because of one primary sponsor: the Victorian Labor government. This event brings together global weapons manufacturers to make deals and sell their bombs and munitions. It will include Elbit Systems, the largest Israeli weapons manufacturer – Elbit, whose weapons have been used by the Israeli military to kill tens of thousands of Palestinian children, men and women over the last 11 ‍months; Elbit, who make cluster bombs, bombs designed to break into smaller bombs that can last for years before they are found, often by children, and then explode in their faces; Elbit, the company that made white phosphorus designed to burn human flesh off the bone.

Labor is not only sponsoring this weapons expo but they are bringing in thousands of extra police from interstate, police with horses and rubber bullets, to dissuade community members who might want to protest against this trade fair for war machines. And let us be clear: the peaceful protesters standing up against war are not the problem here. There is something deeply wrong when all the resources of the state, police and even military helicopters are being used to escort tanks through the streets of Melbourne to the convention centre. There is something deeply wrong when police are being used to defend the rights of multinational weapons corporations to make profits rather than defending the people on the streets, the community members, who are saying no to war. The people of Melbourne do not support profiteering from war.