Category Archives: News

THE DANDENONG RANGES Saturated by more than just rain.

Saturated in more then rain

It may have been a chilly Melbourne day but the Gateway to the Dandenong Ranges greeted visitors with the brand it is now renowned for; ‘No McDonalds in Tecoma’.

Visitors to the popular 1000 Steps at the base of Mt Dandenong were eager to chat with local residents sharing our story so far. We were delighted to hear that tourists from England, Sweden and Germany were already well versed in details pertaining to our little ‘grassroots’ campaign and that they had no intention of visiting the Tecoma outlet.

Further up the hill in Upwey and directly out front of the Tecoma store more campaigners peacefully drove the local message home.

It’s the love for this beautiful region that inspires locals to fight on. Residents have accepted their role as custodians and have vowed to keep fighting this corporate bully.

The dwindling trickle of customers visiting the outlet is an indication of the impact our campaign has had, and the encouraging words of support from visitors is inspirational.

There are no professional protestors here, this is all heart. McDonald’s underestimated the size of these hearts and the only question now is when will they respect this community and gracefully retreat?

TAKE BACK TECOMA TUESDAY 1ST JULY 2014

ALL DAY EVENT
(see event page for full details)

July the 1st will be the one year anniversary of ‘Lanskey Constructions’ (under instruction from McDonald’s), entering Tecoma and erecting hoardings around the historic Hazelvale Dairy and our charming Saffron Cottage.

Local residents rushed to the site in an attempt to peacefully resist the demolition of these cherished buildings. Scores of Police and McDonald’s security worked to secure entry to the site by workers and vehicles against the protests of our passionate community blockade.

This was also the beginning of a surprise roof occupation that would continue for an incredible 4 weeks.

Community members blockaded and occupied the site on a daily basis for the next 5 months… and the Legend of the Tecoma standoff was born.

On July the 16th McDonald’s fought back the only way they know how. Writs were served against 8 protestors.

On the 18th of July the Supreme Court granted an interim injunction against not only the Tecoma 8, but also all “unnamed” individuals who had obstructed access to the site or trespassed between July the 1st and July the 17th.

Civil liberty implications for this law suit and injunction were serious enough to gain pro bono representation from Maurice Blackburn and Julian Burnside. This powerful combination of representation for the community campaigners against McDonald’s resulted in the claim for damages being dropped and reinstatement of our right to walk on the footpath along front the site.

McDonald’s has attempted to divide this community and we continue to stand united as one.

MCDONALDS POWER OUTAGE HAS LOCALS REJOICING.

Was it Karma? Was it Baba Desi? Was it gNOmes?
Who Knows?

The most hated outlet in Tecoma was plunged into darkness and forced to close doors yesterday when wild weather brought down trees and power lines throughout the Dandenong Ranges.

Local residents are suggesting that power outages endured yesterday were well worth the pain to see the establishment closed and to enjoy the fresh mountain air they have been missing. All other small businesses in the strip were unaffected and continued with business as usual.

Seasoned Hills proprietors faced with this situation know the drill. Send your staff home, secure your store and go home to keep warm.

James Currie’s behavior last night was confirmation he and his establishment are not welcome in our town; and he knows it! With no power to keep his 46 security cameras operating James Currie was forced to bunker down in his monstrous McFortress and ride out the storm.

Police Special Operations Group were nowhere to be seen, security patrols have stopped and McDonald’s executives are happy to throw James under a bus.

The McDonald’s Corporation hand picked James to be their ‘sacrificial lamb’. His desperation to gain another store, greed and willingness to disregard resident objections will see him spending many more freezing nights in this outlet as we head into another ‘typical’ Hills Winter.

James Currie and his family are now forced to face reality.
.
The future clearly displayed on the sign:
“CLOSED due to lack of interest – www.burgeroff.org”

The Community, The Wizard and the gNOmes said NO!

The Community, The Wizard, the gNOmes and Mother Nature continue to say NO!