News

Australians descend on McDonald's HQ to protest opening

September 17, 2013

A delegation from the Australian town of Tecoma, a suburb of Melbourne, will protest at McDonald's Corporate Headquarters Sept. 18 in Chicago. They will also deliver a petition to Change.org with 93,000 signatures to the company, opposing the construction of a McDonald's unit in their community.

In a recent interview with the Chicago Tribune, Garry Muratore, who started the petition, compared the installment of a McDonald's restaurant near the Dandenong Ranges — a protected national park in Australia — to opening a McDonald's next to Mount Rushmore.

"McDonald's plans to build a huge 24/7 store and drive-through in our town in the beautiful Dandenong ranges — demolishing local iconic buildings on the site and ensuring it goes directly opposite the kindergarten and school," he said. "For our kids, the nearby national park and our beautiful small-town culture, there could be nothing worse."

Muratore said the plan to build a McDonald's in the area has been opposed by 90 percent of Tecoma residents, and was also rejected by city council. McDonald's has appealed the decision and will go ahead with construction, according to a news release.

The petition is the third largest Australian petition hosted on Change.org. The trip to the U.S., along with a half-page advertisement in The Chicago Tribune, was funded by crowd-sourcing donations from signers of the petition. A total of $40,000 was raised.

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