Convoy of no Confidence participants upbeat.

Image: The left have accused the convoy of being part of the Tea Party. The people involved say they prefer something stronger than tea.

Contrary to some reports, the convoy protest did well. It garnered fantastic support among the towns and communities along the various routes, and some members have mentioned a very positive response among Canberra residents. Mentions of low numbers seem to be wrong as there were at least 1100 vehicles there and around 2,000 people, who it should be remembered travelled up to 5,000 kilometers to be there.

A number of government and Green politicians, (actually the same thing) made a number of derogatory remarks such as convoy of no consequence, and other disrespectful remarks, such as convoys of incontinence. This is to be expected from the sorts of arrogant authoritarian elitists who inhabit the government benches.

These people tend to regard the population of provincial areas with contempt, disdain and condescension until an election comes up, at which they become the real Australians out there and the backbone of our wide brown land or some other politically spun dribble.

There is an excellent report in “Accidently Outback,” on the success of the effort:

Here is a report direct from a participant:

The Convoy of no Confidence has been a remarkable success.
I was extremely proud to be part of the 2000 plus peaceful protest. It was an unprecedented military style logistical effort performed by 'Salt of the Earth" Australians and their many thousands of supporters along each of the 11 routes.

The commitment of the Convoy leaders and the hierarchy of the National Road Freighters Association was an inspiration. The strength of character to embark on this unknown venture showed the true courage of everyone's conviction despite the threat of failure and ridicule.

After our symbolic drive through the Parliamentary precinct we all gathered on the lawn for the official proceedings. There was a wide spectrum of speakers representing Large Industry, Small Business and Social Groups. While all political parties had an open invitation to speak, only various conservative coalition members responded. Our own Just Grounds members Senator Joyce and Williams gave memorable speeches, as did Bronwyn Bishop and Tony Abbott. Two outstanding young speakers were, Rashida Khan from the Northern Territory and Stuart Austin representing Australians Supporting Beef Farmers.

Due to a week of intense buildup and anticipation the Convoy had captured the imagination of the greater population. This was largely due to the wonderful support of the Talkback Radio across the country, which is the defacto people’s parliament. The leaders of this were the 2GB network - Alan Jones and Ray Hadley in Sydney, and Steve Price and Andrew Bolt in Melbourne. We sincerely thank them for their tremendous support. Alan Jones arrived from Sydney after doing his breakfast show of 3 hours and proceeded to MC for the next 5 hours without a break. I personally, will not hear a word against this man, as his commitment to results for our country is there for all to see.

The Convoy of No Confidence was labeled of no 'consequence' two hundred metres from where we were in the House of Representatives. This is an insult from a disgraceful government by a minister of no 'significance'.

It was resolved that we would not submit the 30 000 strong petition signatures on the day. Given the short timeframe and massive support all over the Australia along the way, we are going to continue gathering signatures with an aim of 1 million to be tabled by Senator Joyce in the parliament.

The community spirit that the Just Grounds members have shown was one of the bonds that made the Convoy a success. It eliminated the isolation and aided the organisers to communicate ideas into action right across Australia in a matter of weeks. Give yourselves a huge pat on the back.