"The whole world is watching" is a popular chant at many of the large anti-globalisation rallies these days. The whole world is watching is the exact reasoning behind the Black GST convergence currently happening in Melbourne, Australia while the Commonwealth Games are taking place.

The Black GST collective and supporters prefer to call the Games 'Stolenwealth' rather than Commonwealth, referring to their assertion that sovereignty over this vast sunburnt land was never ceded to the British. Sovereignty to be acknowledged is the second of the three demands in the Black GST title, the first being Genocide to end and the third being a Treaty to be made between the Government and Aboriginal nations (the use of GST refers to Australia's Goods and Services Tax).

The Black GST collective decided on Kings Domain as the place to set up camp for all those indigenous and non-indigenous supporters coming to Melbourne for the Stolenwealth Games. This site was chosen for a number of reasons; one being that it was next to the Governor's residence where the Queen will be staying.

"The invitation to the Sovereign Head of Australia to attend the Sacred Fire Circle to discuss Treaty Business is still open and we hope that this choice of venue will make it easier for the Queen to visit," said Black GST Elder Targan on the day the site was announced. Kings Domain was also chosen because it is the burial ground for the remains of 38 Aboriginal people representing tribes from around Victoria: these had been reclaimed from the Museum of Victoria in 1985. Other ceremonies have taken place since then as other skeletal remains have been returned to their communities, a plaque there reads:

Rise from this Grave
Release your anger and pain
As you soar with the winds
Back to your homelands
There find peace with our
Spiritual Mother The Land
Before drifting off into the Dreamtime

The message for people to join in the Stolenwealth Games has been spread through phone calls, text messages, emails, websites and community radio stations. On March 12 (the first day of the Commonwealth Games) the Stolenwealth Games convergence began with the lighting of the Sacred Fire. The Fire had been transported from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra where a sacred fire burns constantly. The lighting of the Sacred Fire and the Fire Ceremonies, which will take place every day, are serious occasions. However, part of the business of the Black GST camp is to "celebrate the survival of the oldest known culture on this planet", share stories and listen to music. Marj Thorpe, a member of the Black GST coalition, spoke at a public meeting on the Stolenwealth Games. She talked about GST - about Genocide, about Sovereignty and about a Treaty. When talking about genocide she said Aboriginal people have to live this reality "every single day of our life". "We see what goes on in our communities, in our families, our everyday life is what we're talking about and you get tired of it. "It doesn't shock me to hear the latest statistics - the latest life span for Aboriginal people is less than fifty years."

The Oxfam Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Briefing Paper says indigenous life expectancy in Australia today is less than the current life expectancies in much poorer Commonwealth countries, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Guyana. Thorpe says genocide is still happening because Aboriginal people are still subjected to second-rate services and are discriminated against at public institutions, such as schools and hospitals. "In every aspect of our lives we are discriminated against… and why? Because this is a racist country." Thorpe spoke about the failure of the reconciliation process and government policies which are now assimilationist. She says a treaty is needed so every Aboriginal nation in Australia can be recognised. "Every… every nation in this country needs to have the right to negotiate their own settlement. They need to be able to give consent that is informed and they need to be able to negotiate on an equal basis." Thorpe talked about who the government should be speaking to about sovereignty and a treaty. "In every Aboriginal nation in this country there are elders, they are the sovereign owners of this country… and they are the ones that should be treated with respect."

These are the messages that the Black GST collective are seeking to tell the world's media, who are currently in Melbourne watching and reporting on the Commonwealth Games. And the strategy - which includes a Commonwealth Games mirror site www.stolenwealthgames.com - is working. The Black GST website proudly lists the many media outlets that have covered the story of 'stolenwealth' which include Wikinews, New Zealand's TV3 and the Irish Examiner.