Keep Yungaburra a Village

04/02/2026

Today the Government announced it's selling 64 Defence sites across Australia - including Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

We understand the strategic logic. The Defence Strategic Review made clear we need to reorient toward our northern approaches. Proceeds will strengthen bases in Darwin, Townsville, and the Cocos Islands. That makes sense.

But we’re asking the Government to tap the brakes here because once these sites are gone, they’re gone forever.

Veterans right across the country have deep connections to these places.

We've seen what happens when these sales go wrong. Sites left to rot behind locked fences while developers and governments argue for years. Grand plans that never happen.

RSL Australia will be watching this closely. We want to make sure:
▪ Reservists and cadets have somewhere to go BEFORE sites are sold
▪ Heritage protection is real, not just words
▪ Veterans have a say in what happens to places that matter to them

RSL Australia isn't opposed to reform. We're opposed to rushed reform. Let's get this right.

Read our full statement: https://www.rslaustralia.org/latest-news/rsl-urges-government-to-tap-the-brakes-on-defence-estate-sell-off

Does one of these Defence sites hold special memories for you?
What do you think of today’s announcement?

📷 Photo: Defence Australia - The Australian Army celebrating its 104th birthday at Victoria Barracks, Sydney.

02/02/2026

29/01/2026

29/01/2026

26/01/2026

What if the protests are exactly what was needed—not for change, but for control?

It’s a question worth sitting with.

What if these demonstrations, however well-intentioned, are being used as justification for something else entirely?
-Increased surveillance.
-Expanded facial recognition networks.
-Biometric data collection at scale.

New laws and tech tools designed to track, monitor, and suppress—not just the people protesting, but all of us.

This isn’t conspiracy—it’s pattern recognition. And it’s a pattern we’ve seen before.

Moments of chaos often lead to an expansion of control. Public unrest becomes the excuse for private power grabs.

After the recent demonstrations in Minneapolis, we may be witnessing this very shift. So instead of pouring our energy into reactionary rage or fear, what if we chose something different?

This is a time for discernment. For anchoring into calm. For recognizing the difference between controlled opposition and authentic change.

We can’t build a better world from a place of chaos. But we can create something powerful when we rise in truth, protect our peace, and align our actions with wisdom.

Let’s not give away more of our freedom by playing into the game.

The best way to protect yourself is to get informed and to create resilient communities grounded in peace.

Follow for more

26/01/2026

25/01/2026

Did you know the first “Australia Day” was held on 30 July 1915 - created to raise funds for Australians wounded at Gallipoli?

Across the country, communities staged auctions, street collections, performances and stalls. Small items like badges, buttons and ribbons were sold to support patriotic funds and the work of the Australian Division of the Red Cross.

This leather kangaroo badge is one of those fundraisers. It was sold by Miss Gwendoline Lucy Allpress, a Sydney schoolgirl from Elizabeth Bay, NSW, during the 1915 Australia Day appeal.

She later donated items from these campaigns to the Memorial, including fundraising badges and ribbons from Australia Day 1915 and other wartime appeals.

What we now call Australia Day, on 26 January, was widely known as Foundation Day until the 1950s.

Accession number: REL/01626.006

24/01/2026