Melbourne’s Berwick Residents Rally Against Smart Cities
On Saturday 17th June 2023 100 people gathered in Pioneers Park in Berwick, in Melbourne’s City of Casey to Rally Against Smart Cities. Smart Cities is a globalist project of the United Nations, also known as 15 Minute Cities is sold to inhabitants as all about the convenience of having all the services and amenities they need within 15 minutes of their homes.
The rally MC was Craig Cole from the Australia One Party. The rally travelled through the Berwick town centre which is a section of Princes Highway. Victoria Police were present to facilitate the rally route.
Two drivers were abusive to those marching presumable about being held up (they must not know that Smart Cities are about curtailing private car use). Many residents walking around the centre of Berwick had curious looks on their faces. Some of the participants in the rally gave out information pamphlets and Craig Cole used a mobile PA speaker to inform them that Smart Cities would keep them locked in Berwick and they would have to seek a permit from the government to travel out of their suburb.
The rally ended where it started in Pioneers Park where Craig Cole and Darren Bergwerf of My Place Frankston gave speeches. There are now over 200 My Place communities across Australia. Darren spoke about the need for local community activism. Craig stated the facts about Smart Cities and how they are already leading to restrictions on residents in cities in Europe and UK. Both spoke about the need for different freedom activist groups to unite and put aside their differences. They also called on attendees to spread the facts about Smart Cities to others.
The Victorian Government’s version of Smart Cities is Plan Melbourne’s 20-minute neighbourhoods where most of residents’ daily needs will be met within a 20-minute return walk from home. The Plan Melbourne website was updated this year to deny that 20 minute neighbourhoods are about putting restrictions on anyone travelling outside their neighbourhood or moving freely across Melbourne or monitoring anyone (like the Victorian Government did during the covid lockdowns).
Some Local Governments across Melbourne have moved their Council meetings online or to different times to avoid anti-Smart Cities and freedom activists attending. Local Government elections will be held for all Victorian councils in 2024 where there will be plenty of freedom candidates running. They are held via mail-in ballots in Victoria with residents sent a pamphlet of all of the candidates running with a blurb about their campaigns. Political party affiliations are not listed on local government ballot papers. Local Governments in Victoria still hold significant powers over their area so local elections are just as consequential as any other election.