It must be part of every campaign, the ‘reach-out.’ Garnering new support, trying to expand networks so that the collective voice of opposition gets louder. I’ve never stood back from one of these ‘reach-out’ events and sensed whether it achieved its goal, whatever that may be… building awareness, spurring political action, raising money… I wonder if the promise of power and influence through collective action is realised and translated into the discourse of a campaign. Is there a surge of energy experienced by those who are already part of the collective? Or, does the network just grow even if members of it are not conscious of this? Does it even matter? I think it does, knowing that I am connected somehow does give me energy to continue being part of collective action. Then there must be all of those things that emerge from the ‘reach-out’ that were unanticipated. I’m not sure what they are either! We shall wait and see…
Being with Country 
The feedback people have been sharing about this event has been really interesting. For some/many(?) of the mob at the Melbourne event it was a feeling of connection to people-country. For mob in Broome it was feeling the support and solidarity of people on the other side of Australia. Apparently 21,000 people watched this event live on the web. If we are talking about expanding networks of connection then I think that this event made it happen in a big way. But how does that translate in the political arena and on the ground at Walmadany? My sister, friends and even ex-students have said that they feel called to come to this country. How did all of the attention garnered during the Franklin River dam issue affect the way in that place-people was performed… and is still being performed today?
http://www.concertforthekimberley.com/