4th July talks by Fiona McCandless and Dr Vince Scappatura

speakers at 4th July Public Forum in Melbourne – Keep Australia Out of U.S. wars:  Time for our Independence, 
Fiona McCandless, member of IPAN and unionist, spoke on the disastrous impact on people and the environment in countries hosting foreign military bases.  Examples she gave included Maralinga in South Australia and Okinawa in Japan. 

“No matter which country is the occupier or the occupied, the host country loses their sovereignty when we open our land to foreign military, and often the main sufferers of the military presence are the indigenous people. When we let foreign military onto our lands, we lose our sovereignty. Through the examples of Okinawa’s current American military bases and Australia’s past British nuclear testing in Maralinga, Emu Field, and Montebello Islands, it is apparent that the occupied country is not made aware of what is occurring on their land. We must not let our lands and our people be used by foreign military – get US bases off our shores’

Fiona McCandless talk 4 July Public Forum

Fiona McCandless power point 4 July presentation

Vince Scappatura, academic and author spoke on the influence of the pro-U.S. lobby on Australian military, intelligence and foreign policies and the impact of U.S.-China contention on Australia.

“This is the “alliance orthodoxy” that dominates the thinking of Australia’s national security elite, enthusiastically promoted and protected by a whole host of individuals and institutions that make up the US lobby in Australia.”

Dr Vince Scappatura_IPAN VIC 4 July 2019

Vince recently published his book “The U.S. Lobby and Australian Defence Policy.”  http://www.publishing.monash.edu/books/usladp-9781925523522.html