Political Attempts to Redirect Protest Energy
The first School Strike 4 Climate marches of 2021 were a fantastic show by young people that they are still angry, and that they recognise politicians have not moved anywhere near far enough to address climate change. Led by high school students, 13 marches were organised across New Zealand on 9th April, giving thousands of […]
Wellington Pride 2021
On Saturday morning 27 March 2021, as the Wellington clouds rolled back and the morning drizzle cleared, about 500 of Wellington’s LGBTQIA+ community gathered at Frank Kitts Park for the Pride Hīkoi. This community event was the culmination of a two-week Wellington Pride Festival, a community-led celebration of rainbow identity. According to the Festival website, […]
Labour’s 23 March Housing Announcement
The housing crisis is without doubt the most grievous of Labour’s failings. Super-inflated rents and mortgages are claiming ever greater portions of incomes. Inequality is worsened as workers are bled dry by landlords and the banks. Every day the media carry news items on the crisis. To deflect responsibility falling on her government, Ardern claims […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Solidarity to fight Islamophobia, not more spies
“Justice to those affected has not yet been served.” That was Aliya Danzeisen’s response to the Royal Commission’s findings. The Commission was tasked with finding what factors lead to the massacre of 51 Muslims in Christchurch last year. Danzeisen has every right to be outraged and disappointed at the Royal Commission’s woefully inadequate recommendations, and […]
Labour’s Victory: a Confirmation, and an Opportunity
This was a win on an historic scale. You have to go back almost eighty years, to the First Labour Government’s victories in 1938 and 1946, to find suitable comparisons for Labour shares of the popular vote so commanding, and so clear. This was Labour’s best result since MMP was introduced, and the Greens’ third […]
Convergence on the Right: What’s Driving the Rise of Conspiracy Theories?
If the election has been dominated in the mainstream by the centre-left, Labour and Jacinda Ardern, on the right-wing dangerous fringes are enjoying a worrying rise. ACT’s increased vote share is the most visible but, further right, conspiracy-theory-fuelled parties are drawing big crowds. Conspiracy theories have always been the realm of the far right – […]
Labour’s Wellington rally
On Sunday 11 October Labour held its Wellington election rally at the Michael Fowler auditorium which can seat 1,800 on two tiers – ambitious. In fact the smaller top tier wasn’t needed and the main tier had some empty seats towards the back, but the audience was easily big enough to create a cheery atmosphere […]
