Australian Social Defence Conference

On 24-26 May 1991, a conference on social defence was held at Ballina, a town
on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia. There were twenty to thirty
participants.

Social defence is nonviolent community resistance to aggression as an
alternative to military defence.  It relies on techniques such as strikes,
boycotts and noncooperation.

Social defence has been promoted in Australia for only a decade.  Before the
1980's it was virtually unknown.  The group Canberra Peacemakers spread the
idea, especially through the broadsheet titled - unsurprisingly - 'social
defence'.

The first national conference on social defence was held in Wollongong in
February 1990.

The Ballina conference was the initiative of Robyn Whyte.  She was attracted
by the concept and wanted to increase the level of discussion and action in
Lismore.  Most of the participants were from nearby Lismore and Brisbane. 
Some came from Canberra and Wollongong.

There were three formal speakers at the conference.  Rosie Wells of Schweik
Action Wollongong (SAW) told about the activities of SAW.  The group has had
three to five members over the past several years.  The main current project
involves interviewing telecommunications workers to find out how the
technology could be used to oppose an invasion or coup, and also to raise the
idea of social defence with those interviewed.  She also described the
importance of pleasant social interactions in maintaining the group.

Brian Martin, also from SAW, gave a general outline of the rationale for
social defence.  In addition, he argued that, rather than just waiting for
aggressors to arrive and then using nonviolence against them, more effort
should be devoted towards 'social offence'.  This means using various methods
to support groups in other countries that are nonviolently resisting
oppression or aggression.

Peter Jones, from Canberra, described some of the issues that need to be
addressed to bring social defence into parliamentary debate.  Currently, the
Department of Defence sets the terms of the debate in terms of how much
military spending rather then why.  This is totally unrealistic, given that
the Department itself sees no significant military threats to Australia
within the foreseeable future.

He argued that there should be more attention toward redefining security,
promoting measures to build confidence between countries and strengthening
the Department of Foreign Affairs relative to the Department of Defence.

There were several sets of workshops, with the conference divided into groups
of three to ten people.  In the first session of workshops, participants were
asked to ponder how they could link social defence with groups in which they
were already involved.  In the second session of workshops, there were
several topic groups, including community mobilisation, media and dissolving
patriarchy.

The third session of workshops discussed action on social offence.  A very
positive result was preliminary plane to establish new groups in Lismore and
Brisbane.

In the final session of workshops, one group participated in a role play. 
The other group - organized by popular demand - was on the topic of
alternative forms of government.  The discussion showed widespread
disillusionment with representative democracy and a willingness to examine a
diverse range of alternatives.

The conference was a very relaxed and pleasant affair.  Although officially
it was nearly winter, the weather was balmy.  The conference centre, on the
banks of a river near the ocean, was congenial.  The vegetarian food seemed
to please everyone.

The entertainers planned for Saturday night were not available, so a variety
show was quickly arranged using the talents of the people at the conference. 
Several poets read their work, and others offered songs, skits (on social
defence), stories and jokes.  It was truly participatory entertainment.

Awareness of social defence in Australia has increased quite a lot in the
past decade, although obviously there is a long way to go.  The successful
Ballina conference was a very helpful part of the process.
Brian Martin
Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Wollongong,
PO Box 1144 Wollongong NSW 2500, Australia.
Phone +61 42 287860 (home),
+61 42 213763 (work),
fax +61 42 213452, Email
Brian_Martin@central-gw.uow.edu.au