The Mine Ain’t Yours: Primary Industry and the Material Interests in Racial Division

The coalition is racist. Nearly a year on from the fateful 2023 election that saw the two-term Labour government swept away in a tide of reactionary fervour, Te Ao Māori has come under fire. The New Zealand Herald spreading Hobson’s Pledge propaganda, a stringent rewrite of the Marine and Coastal Area Act on the table, […]
Hīkoi 2024 – Partnership from Below

When I arrived early there was already a sizable, largely Māori crowd. There was a stunning diversity of banners and regalia. A woman walking by me gasped “ah, look at our people!” The contrast must be striking when you are used to almost always being in a minority in a place like Wellington. And not […]
The State of the Unions in 2024

The end of 2024 marks one year in power for the National-led government. This retrospective look at the year for unions examines the state of the union movement in 2024 compared with the first year of the last National-led government in 2009. National Party leader John Key was sworn in as Prime Minister at the […]
Hīkoi as a protest of defiance, unity and hope

The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti was not just a mass gathering of people, it was an act of defiance, unity, and hope. Māori, pākehā, tauiwi, all heeded the call of the organisers of Toitū te Tiriti, and came out in our tens of thousands. And while the formal call from the organisers was to rally around […]
Hīkoi as Education

All kinds of ākonga – Māori, Pākehā, tauiwi – in and out of uniform were out in full on the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti on the streets of Wellington last week. The Hīkoi will be remembered as one of those events in history, which will be taught in our Aotearoa History lessons, and one as […]
Toitū te Tiriti!

There is a palpable sense of excitement in the air. Granted, the Jetstar lounge isn’t necessarily the most excitable place in the country, but hearing Te Reo Māori flying and constitutional histories discussed by aunties and uncles is a sure cause. The eve before the march has Auckland Domestic Airport Gate 21 buzzing, as inked […]
Foreshore and Seabed: A New Wave of Attacks

Another round of Crown confiscations stand before us. Among the current onslaught of law-changes, the Government has recently announced its plans to overturn the 2023 Court of Appeal decision which lowered the threshold for meeting Customary marine title claims. The history here gets tangled easily, so let’s break it down in chronological order (an oversimplification, […]
Editorial – Oppose this Government’s Attacks on Māori!

This is the editorial of Issue 9 of our physical publication, The Socialist The government are playing the classics. It seems that every other day brings news of fresh attacks on Māori. Whether the demotion of Māori names from government agencies, funding cuts to health and community organisations, removal of equity policies, or breaches of […]
Oppose the De-funding of Massey’s Students’ Association

Romany is a member of the International Socialist Organisation of Aotearoa and student representative with Te Tira Ahu Pae, writing here in a personal capacity. We should all be deeply concerned by Massey University’s announcement that they intend to de-fund Te Tira Ahu Pae, the Massey University student association and take over the running of […]
Ngā Taurahere – a new Māori translation of The Internationale – Part 2

Part One of this interview and translation can be found here: https://iso.org.nz/2024/06/28/nga-taurahere-a-new-maori-translation-of-the-internationale/ ISO members Kaakatarau Te Pou Kohere (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tuhoe, Ngāti te ata Waiohua, Kai Tahu) and Tima Thurlow (Ngāi Tuhoe) are developing a new Māori translation of the workers’ anthem The Internationale. Kaakatarau spoke to Shōmi Yoon about the considerations and politics of […]