Keep National Out, and Build a Socialist Alternative

What a contrast between the politics we need and the politics on offer this election! The world is being ravaged by forest fires and devastating floods, and yet all the parliamentary parties’ plans for climate change are so slow, and so timid. They will not confront the vested interests – in farming, roading and building […]

Labour: Stop Pretending and Actually Fund Tertiary Education!

Aotearoa’s universities are under threat. In October 2022, Auckland University of Technology (AUT) vice-chancellor Damon Salesa announced an intent to cut 170 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff across a range of academic areas (Morton, 2022). 90 staff accepted voluntary redundancy before AUT was knocked back by the Employment Relations Authority, forcing the university to commence […]

Inflation Crisis: This is Class War

Price inflation

The jury is out on whether in Aotearoa, and around the world, an economic recession will be the sequel to the period of high inflation we are experiencing at present. Monetarist economic orthodoxy is being deployed by the government to engineer an economic slowdown. In Aotearoa Gross Domestic Product shrank fractionally in this year’s March […]

Education in Crisis

Stop the Cuts - John Tregonning

Photo Credit: John Tregonning Introduction After 30 years of neoliberal cuts and running education like a business, the chickens have come home to roost. Secondary and tertiary students are looking around wondering whether their courses will be offered next year, or whether they will have a teacher or lecturer in front of their classroom or […]

Fired Up for Workers’ Rights

Fired Up Stilettos at Parliament

Since February socialists have been following the activity of Fired Up Stilettos (FUS), a group of dancers who have been “kicking up a FUS” ever since they were unfairly sacked from Calendar Girls strip club in Wellington. Braving the possible repercussions, FUS have been blowing the whistle on unscrupulous practices in adult entertainment and agitating […]

Labour and Greens’ Inaction on Climate Change

Forestry slash and flooding near Gisborne. Photo courtesy of Gisborne City Council.

Image: Forestry slash and flooding near Gisborne. Photo courtesy of Gisborne City Council. The Labour Party and the Green Party have had a Cooperation Agreement for the current Parliament. Under the agreement the Greens got two ministers, both outside Cabinet. James Shaw continued as Minister of Climate Change, a post he held in the 2017-2020 […]

$355 Million for Tertiary Sector Reappropriated

Hipkins in front of posters that read 'Oppose Labour's Cuts to Otago'

Lower enrolment rates saw money syphoned away from unis The below article was originally published in University of Otago student magazine ‘Critic Te Arohi’ and is republished here with permission. Otago Uni Associate Professor Brian Roper claims that $355 million budgeted towards tertiary education is going unspent. This is enough money to bail out Otago, […]

Students Against Cuts – Statement of Support

A statement from the Victoria University International Socialist Club, the VUW club of the International Socialist Organisation. This week the Victoria University International Socialist Club has come together with other student groups to help launch the campaign group Students Against Staff Cuts (SAC).  The Labour government needs to fund universities adequately. These institutions are not […]