[Sydney - Australia]

On November 4 a group of 30 or so squatters occupied an empty church-owned building (the trocadero) as part of their campaign to set up squatted social centres in Sydney. Later that evening police and fire brigade broke through the barricades and evicted the squat.

The building had been occupied @ 8am that morning by 30 members of a new squatgroup called SCAN [ Social Centre Autonomus Network]. SCAN - who had been meeting and planning the occupation - aimed to transform the building into a squatted social centre with spaces for political organizing, infoshop, cinema, doof/band space, artspace, copwatch, food not bombs kitchen, and Neighbours alerted police soon after the occupation began. Police twice tried unsucessfully to access the building. Later that night, however, the police returned with the fire brigade under the direction of the local conservative church. They used hydraulic cutters and axes to smash through the front doors and enter the building. No-one was arrested in the eviction though church members did try to deliver a sermon to everytone on the importance of private property.

The building had been empty for almost 8 years. It had once been a rollerskating rink and theatre. Now its rotting while the wealthy church decide who to sell it to. --

[squat!net]

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