Puberty blockers and the deliberate misrepresentation of science
Transgender-questioning youth in Aotearoa will now be denied access to the “pause button” of puberty blockers – denied the option to delay their puberty by a few years while they come to grips with an overwhelming mix of reflecting on their personal identity, determining what self-expression works for them, dealing with social expectations, and trying […]
The year of the strike is a year like no other
Image Caption: Trade union, Palestine, and Tino Rangatiratanga flags at parliament, showing the convergence of Māori, pro-Palestine and workers’ struggles. Photo Credit: Public Service Association. “The year of the strike? Perfect pay storm looms over public sector.” This was the headline of an article back in February by a prescient Stuff journalist. This perfect storm […]
Women workers deserve a stronger union response to pay equity cuts
This government hates the working class, particularly women In May 2025, New Zealand’s coalition government passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act under urgency, and in this one action, rolled back years of reform work to improve pay for some of our most critical and underpaid workers. While many commentators expressed shock and disbelief that the […]
Welfare and the deserving poor
On May 25 Labour’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced the government’s Income Relief Payments, a scheme whereby workers who found themselves newly unemployed due to COVID-19 would receive payments to alleviate their hardship, set at $490 a week for full-time workers and $250 a week for part-time workers. To anyone familiar with New Zealand’s welfare […]
Covid-19 Update – Government Gambles on Outbreak
The government has rolled the dice. On Tuesday the 28th of April we will move down to level 3 of the COVID-19 Alert System. More businesses will open up as long as they can show they don’t have direct contact with consumers. Forestry, Manufacturing and Construction will reopen. Schools and Early Childhood Centres will be […]
The Rental crisis in Aotearoa
Brandon Johnstone gave this talk to a national meeting of the International Socialists discussing our organisation’s response to the COVID-19 emergency on April 3. In February 2020, before the economic and societal impacts of COVID-19 were truly felt in New Zealand, United Nations Special Rapporteur on housing Leilani Farha referred to the housing situation in […]
The State of Emergency: Musings on the Capitalist State
Today the Ardern government formally declared the State of National Emergency and the Epidemic Notice that we were told to expect as we enter the Level 4 lockdown. The government will have the powers to use the police and the armed forces to enforce the lockdown. Parliament has been adjourned for nearly five weeks. In […]
The politics of the virus
Socialist Alternative is an Australian socialist organisation. This speech was given at a video conference of Socialist Alternative’s national committee on 22 March. Mick Armstrong is a founding member of Socialist Alternative and is a member of the organisation’s national executive. There can be no overstating the significance of this horrific crisis for humanity. The death […]
