I was there: the Austudy 5

In 1992, the then Labor government announced it would cut student support, Austudy, from its already derisory level. Thousands of students took to the streets. In Melbourne, the police counter-attacked by arresting five socialists. It took more than two years but a significant defence campaign led to all the major charges being dropped. Among the five were Marcus Banks and Jonathan Sherlock and we’re talking with them today. View images from the defence campaign. Read more about student struggles. Find out more about Solidarity.