VANGUARD - Expressing the viewpoint of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
For National Independence and Socialism • www.cpaml.org
(Photo supplied)
Campaigning in the South Australian 2026 state election is well underway. Anti-war protestors have their own thoughts on what should be on the campaign agenda. They decided to focus on a number of electoral seats that host industrial military complexes in Adelaide/Kaurna Yerta.
Premier Malinauskas, who holds the seat of Croydon, is also the Minister for Defence and Space Industries. Lucy Hood, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, whose seat of Adelaide hosts Lot 14—a hub that houses the Australian Space Agency and a number of other military research-related corporations and start-ups—Boeing Defence, and the Defence SA office in the CBD.
On 4th March, anti-war protestors from Disrupt Arms Traders, IPAN-SA (Independent & Peaceful Australia Network - South Australia), and PACOA (Port Adelaide Community Opposes AUKUS) took their no-war message to the electoral offices of Malinauskas and Hood.
Just before these campaigners occupied the office foyers, they forewarned the media of their intentions. Half of the protestors entered the building while the other half stood outside displaying banners to passing traffic.
Once inside Premier Malinauskas' office foyer, they delivered a letter opposing the transformation of South Australia into a war base to serve US imperialism's aggression in East Asia. They then proceeded to occupy the foyer, chanting anti-war slogans and criticising the premier's fawning over US weapons corporations to the staff.
Channel 7 TV arrived at Malinauskas' office and interviewed a representative of the protestors, who pointed out the dangers of AUKUS and the numerous US and UK weapons manufacturers in the state, such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and BAE. The protest was televised that night on the evening news (see our Facebook page for March 5).
Afterwards, the anti-war protestors repeated the action at Lucy Hood's office in Prospect. This action caught the Labor Party and electoral staff off guard, leaving them somewhat flummoxed and embarrassed to have to deal with the protestors.
Overseas war profiteers in South Australia have become one of the biggest industries in the state. The anti-war protestors threatened to repeat this kind of action at other electoral offices in the future.
Malinauskas’ key agency is Defence SA, which rolls out the red carpet to weapons makers. He wants a weapons export economy, no matter what it takes and what gets destroyed as a result of the weapons exported from South Australia.
Exporting parts for F35s, guided missiles, and cyber warfare technology—used to destroy and kill—is all fine according to "Weapons Pete." Hey, he’ll even throw in a government grant or two to help global weapons makers. As long as there’s a shiny photo opportunity, he’ll be there.
Malinauskas' obsession with AUKUS puts him on a par with Marles and Albanese. When the US directs, they jump. Malinauskas is so obsessed with AUKUS that he has given global arms dealers access to our entire education system to spread their propaganda to youngsters in our schools.