Rosa Luxemburg at 150: a revolutionary legacy
Rosa Luxemburg, one of the great leaders in the history of the socialist movement, was born in Poland (then a province of the Russian empire) 150 years ago this month, on 5 March 1871. Luxemburg cut her teeth in the Polish revolutionary underground, but as an immensely talented political leader, she was drawn to the […]
The Resource Management Act Is No Good, but Beware its Replacement
If you were to only listen to the media pundits, the National and Act party spokespeople, and the various heads in the property development sector, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Resource Management Act 1991, or RMA for short, was drafted by Satan himself. At the very least it seems to be universally […]
The Stock Market Is a Game That’s Rigged
In the last week of January something peculiar happened. The press was alight with reports of ‘meme stocks’ and the stock market being ‘broken’ by an internet forum. Gamestop is a gaming retail store that has been struggling since digital game sales now dominate the gaming market. During 2020, as Covid-19 ravaged the economy, things […]
The Housing Crisis: Build State Homes!
Sky-high property prices and sky-high rents put those who do not own their home on the horns of a dilemma. Do you carry on handing over a ridiculous portion of your wages to your landlord? Or do you bite the bullet, take out an enormous mortgage, buy a home and hand over a ridiculous portion […]
Private Tenants Held to Ransom by Landlords
Over the years of the ever-present housing crisis the amount of people renting in the private sector has grown. One in three Kiwis now rent, and they are renting for longer and having to pay out more of their income as well. Despite this, our tenancy laws are still heavily based on a time in […]
Indian Farmers Protest!
Farmers in India have had enough of the Modi government’s anti-farmer reforms. Farmers have set up camps and occupied Delhi borders since November 2020 in protest against agriculture laws passed in September. At the time of writing the protests were continuing with no intention to stop until demands are met. The farmers protest under the […]
The Waikeria Uprising
“We are tangata whenua of this land. We are Māori people forced into a European system.” On 29 December 2020 prisoners at Waikeria Prison protested, lighting fires in an exercise yard before climbing onto the roof of the jail. After six days the protest came to an end with the surrender by the remaining 16 […]
Attempted Coup or a Farce?
Here we present an article on the intrusion into the Capitol Building in Washington. It was first published on the Red Flag website. “Today” in the first sentence was 6 January. Far right protesters today entered the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, to support Donald Trump’s failed attempt to cling to a second presidential term […]
Detainees set fire to the Christmas Island Detention Centre
The following article was published on the Australian website Red Flag on 6 January. Among the detainees there are New Zealanders, including Māori and Pacific Islanders. A riot has broken out in the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre, much of which, as of early Wednesday morning, was in flames. The rioters are men who want […]
Ten Years after the Arab Spring
Ten years ago today, a young fruit vendor in Tunisia, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire after being harassed by the police. Shortly thereafter, protests started in Tunisia and quickly spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. What can socialists learn from the Arab Spring and its aftermath? Ten years ago, in a small […]
