Thirty seven armed police officers attended the rally against the Labor government's 'zero tolerance policing' at Parliament house on May 8, 2002. Police appeared ill-at-ease, given the peaceful nature of our protests and the general disdain for such a heavy ARMED presence, adequately voiced by NAP Coordinator Gary Meyerhoff and PARIAH spokesperson Fiona Clarke.

Particularly disturbing, were the four members of the NT's armed, khaki-clad, paramilitary, inserted immediately behind the speakers in the Parliament's foyer.

It was a very intimidating tactic, especially after the brutality of NT police at Raintree Park.

Police began to drift off soon after the speaker's caustic appraisal of their attendance, although the police standing directly behind the speakers remained.

Protesters had a permit and have never initiated violence -- unlike the NT Police.

As to the "illegal drugs" mentioned by Supt. Rennie to 'justify' such a heavily armed presence, marijuana is smoked at most public gatherings in Australia.

The total absence of Police at our widely publicized smoke-in, four days earlier, at precisely the same place, exposes Supt. Rennie's dissembling and the political expediency practiced by the NT Police.
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As though to highlight these absurdly inappropriate police tactics...

- After the rally at Parliament house, a combined group of Longgrasser Association, NAP and PARIAH members marched to the Darwin City Council, occupied the building and presented a giant-sized infringement notice from the LGA to the Darwin City Council. I counted over a hundred people inside the building.

Dancing and singing to the accompaniment of a didgeridoo and clapping sticks took place during the handover. The 'infringement notice' cited DCC bias and continual harassment of Darwin's 'longgrasser' people. We left as peacefully as we'd entered -

...no police were present.