The Marrickville Peace Group is a collective of individuals of disparate political views who come together to foster activities in support of peace and in opposition to war as a means of settling international disputes.

They meet in the back room of a Marrickville cafe once a month and Nick Deane often finds himself writing minutes, press releases and letters on behalf of the group.

‘We don’t have a structure… we don’t have a constitution. We just know one another and we meet regularly and get on with the job.’

Nick is one of many people who have felt moved to action in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq but has continued his peace activism beyond this to protest against the military presence of the United States in Australia and to take part in the global day of action against military spending.

‘It disappoints me that more people aren’t willing to come out on the street and express their views publicly,’ Nick said. ‘If you do it on Facebook you’re still in a private space… it’s not the same as being on the street.’

One of Nick’s biggest frustrations is that the peace movement has still not become mainstream. ‘It’s still not quite respectable to say you are opposed to the marines in Darwin, for example.’

Nick says he would like to see the media ask real questions like, ‘Why do we need United States forces in our country?’

Check out theMarrickville Peace Group online.