Attacks on Pay Equity to Fund Tax Cuts for the Rich – This is Class War
Two days ago, the ruling right-wing coalition government rammed through legislation under urgency to extinguish all ongoing claims for pay equity (the mechanism by which historically undervalued feminised work can be paid equivalent to historically masculine work), and made it more difficult for future claims to be successful. Presumably, the violently undemocratic urgency mechanism was […]
Ōtepoti for Transgender Liberation – Turn the Culture War into Class War
On May 3rd, 2025, LGBT+ activists and allies from around Ōtepoti gathered in the Octagon in a demonstration of solidarity with their trans whānau, who have become an increasing focal point of mainstream media and the global right-wing sphere. The rally represented opposition to New Zealand First’s recently proposed Members’ Bill, which aims to legally […]
Reflections and Questions on the Denniston Plateau Occupation
Over the Easter Weekend a group of activists set out to the Denniston plateau to protest mining company Bathurst Resources’, “Buller Plateaux Continuation Project.” The proposal sets out to “extend the life of the Stockton mine”, by expanding further South in attempts “to mine 20 million tonnes of coking coal for export from the Buller […]
Reject ANZAC Day – Speech at the 2025 Peace Picnic
On 25 April ISO member Jasper Auld gave this speech at the 2025 Peace Picnic – organised by Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition. Kia ora, I’m Jasper from the International Socialists. I’d like to talk about what ANZAC Day currently serves as: A day for our colonial state to hide its atrocities in emotional propaganda and outright […]
The Health Crisis, Privatisation Threat and Resistance
Everyone knows that we are in a health funding crisis. We know it because we experience it. Everyone has their horror stories of waiting, waiting, and waiting: for doctor’s appointments, for specialist referrals, for medical procedures. If it was bad under the last Labour government, it is even worse under Christopher Luxon. A key policy […]
Tesla Takedown in Pōneke
On the morning of Wednesday 9th April 2025, a modest crowd of around 30 people gathered in an industrial zone on the outskirts of Pōneke Wellington. On a footpath outside a Tesla showroom, the crowd held a ‘Tesla Takedown’ rally, one of many such-named protests happening globally. The rally, called by the Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition […]
People Power Trumps the Government
Confronted today with dismal Right Wing governments at home and overseas, it’s easy to feel powerless. But mass popular movements can beat back governments – especially when these are backed up by active support from workers and unions. In fact, we’ve beaten the government in Aotearoa many times before. Sometimes we scored quick victories. Other […]
Solidarity with Rotokākahi
Full solidarity with the land protectors of Rotokākahi! The International Socialist Organisation of Aotearoa expresses its unconditional solidarity with the mana whenua of Tūhourangi and Ngati Tūmatawera as they oppose the construction of a sewage pipe through this tapu burial site. While local whānau, hapū and iwi are connected to the wai and whenua through […]
Defying Destiny – A Reflection
Background: On Sunday 23 February 2025, between 1200 and 2000 LGBTQ+ allies assembled in Albert Park in defiance of Destiny Church. The week prior, one of Destiny Church’s front groups, Man Up, had stormed and terrorised a Drag King’s storytime event in the Te Atatu Peninsula library, where one person was concussed and terrified children […]
Deliberately Created Unemployment: Kick Out the Right
At the beginning of the inflation crisis in 2021, and through to its peak in 2022, the official unemployment rate was low: 3.2 to 3.3 percent. Since then, according to the latest figures from Statistics NZ, the unemployment rate has steadily risen and stood at 5.1 percent by the end of 2024. Joblessness is causing […]
