AUCKLAND: “United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future.” These are the words of the 15th October worldwide protest organizers who aim to “initiate the global change”. Taking inspiration from the Occupy Wall Street movement, rallies will be held in 951 cities in 82 countries from Asia and the Americas, to Africa and Europe. Hundreds of people have already protested in Australia and New Zealand as well as other Asian cities. Australia In the Australian city of Sydney, some 2,000 people including representatives of Aboriginal groups, communists and trade unionists took to the streets outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia. “The planet can't go on with this unsustainable level of inequality,” Mark Goudkamp, a Sydney organizer, told Australian reporters. “There needs to be a fundamental overhaul of how our economy works; we need to challenge those who are the most powerful who control the global economy and have an enormous influence on elected politicians.” There were protests in several other Australian cities, around 1,000 people gathered in Melbourne. “I think people want real democracy,” said Nick Carson, a spokeperson for OccupyMelbourne.Org. “They don't want corporate influence over their politicians. They want their politicians to be accountable.” There were few reports of arrests and no violence at the protests. New Zealand By 4 PM yesterday 1859 people had said on Facebook that they would be attending the Auckland event, Occupy Queen St, which started at 3pm. The group marched up Queen St, in a “festive” atmosphere and then began an “occupation” of Aotea Square, which is aimed to last until November 30. Protesters were armed with placards sporting slogans such as “We are the 99 percent” and “Stop Corporate Greed” mirroring Americas Occupy Wall Street. Organizers urge people to bring tents, food, water, sleeping bags, musical instruments and media devices to get protest images out to the world. Eighty of the protesters have set up a dozen tents for the night. Alex Port, a university student who is camping for the night, said “Our general assembly involved 2,000 people from all walks of life and made decisions by consensus without a hitch.” “Decisions included giving unanimous support to Occupy Wall Street and establishing the occupation.” Protesters are now setting up groups to deal with the occupation including security, food, sanitation and the internet connection used to send the groups press release. Auckland was not alone today; at least 200 people rallied in Wellington city to Sea Bridge at the Civic Square and intend to occupy it for a week. Rallies also took place in Dunedin and New Plymouth. Hundreds are reported to have gathered in Hagley Park in Christchurch. Rob Read, a spokesperson for the Occupy Aotearoa group says their focus is on the growing inequality in society and corporate greed. He says he'll be staying in Hagley Park for as long as it takes to make a difference against what he says is a system that leaves millions in poverty. “People like myself who work every day and at the end of the week I still have to make the decision whether to pay the bills or eat for the forthcoming week. I don't see that as being right or fair, it goes against the Human Rights Act.” According to a Statistics New Zealand survey from 2006, 1 percent of the country's population holds 16 percent of the wealth. The Luxembourg Wealth study shows the percentage of wealth held by a nation's top 1% population. USA 33pc Sweden 18pc NZ (estimate) 16pc Canada 15pc Germany 14pc Finland 13pc Italy 11pc Britain 10pc BM
