15 February 2003

I was one of 500,000 in Hyde Park, Sydney, on Saturday, 15 February 2003, to march against the war. In spite of trains not running, all of these people showed up - many for the first time to a protest. Everywhere you looked, there were rivers of people moving along the streets.

Sydney has a population of between 3 to 4 million. This means that between one-sixth and one-eight of the population was protesting against the war. Australia-wide, about one million people protested against the war - 5% of the population.

There are still people who say these protesters were not the majority - 17 million did not march. Silence is consent.

Even though, the war went ahead with Australian involvement. This was a great disappointment for many people.

I think it is a hard lesson about the workings of the Australian democracy. Protesting does not change the system but it changes people who protest.