No rollback on reproductive rights!
Protestors marched earlier this month, on the second of December, in defence of abortion and reproductive rights in Wellington. The march, organised by Poneke Anti-Fascist Coalition, was intended to counter the anti-abortion “March for Life” which is held each year by the organisation Right to Life. The numbers on both sides were smaller than they […]
Union Response to the War on Gaza
Palestinian unions are urging global unions to show solidarity and refuse to support the ongoing destruction in Gaza, including hospitals, ambulances, and refugee centres. Calling on unions internationally: To refuse to build weapons destined for Israel. To refuse to transport weapons to Israel. To pass motions in their trade union to this effect. To take […]
Student Activism Revival
An exciting development of 2023 has been the return of university student protest, with a wave of protests erupting onto campuses across Aotearoa in response to proposed staff and course cuts. While we have seen outbreaks of student discontent on campus in recent years, such as the “New University” protests sparked by specialist library closures […]
Te Tairawhiti: The Sun Rising Over a Troubled Land
Ehara toku tu he tu ka neke, a, ko toku mana ki Hikurangi, ehara nana te nuku. Ehara toku kaha he kaha naku noa, ko toku kaha ki Waiapu, nana te kaha. Ehara ahau noa, ko Ngati Porou kei te mihi. I stand unmoving, as my mana is at Hikurangi, he does not move. My […]
The far right in the 2023 general election
Amongst the parties who vied for our votes in Aotearoa’s October 2023 general election, not a single one represented the working class against capitalism. However, this does not in any way mean all of the options were equally bad or that the various potential outcomes of the election were irrelevant. Beyond the obvious battle between […]
The Labour Party loses the election: What is to be done?
This was an election that Labour contrived to lose. The most dramatic shift in party support was the drop in the Labour vote from 50 percent in 2020 to towards half of that this time. Every other party gained. Labour lost votes to the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, which demonstrates that Labour managed to […]
Vote Green or Te Pāti Māori, and Build a Socialist Alternative
The International Socialist Organisation’s position on the general election, in line with a decision at a membership conference, is summed up in the slogan: ‘Keep National Out, and Build a Socialist Alternative.’ The implication is to give the party vote to Labour, the Greens or Te Pāti Māori. In this opinion piece Grant Brookes puts […]
The Limits of Parliamentary Politics
Earlier this year, when Christopher Luxon ruled out working with Te Pāti Māori after the election, he justified his position by saying, “we believe in one person, one vote. We believe that we are all equal citizens and equal under the law.” Despite the alarming lack of awareness from a Leader of the Opposition – […]
What Happened to Fair Pay Agreements?
Labour’s 2017 election manifesto commitment to introduce industry-wide Fair Pay Agreements was, arguably, the party’s most radical policy. The idea was to set national terms and conditions for groups of unorganised, low-paid workers – cleaners, security guards and the like – which would put an end to the race to the bottom by the employers. […]
A Nasty Right Wing
In the 2023 election, the National Party faces a situation that it hasn’t faced in its 87-year history: a serious challenger to their right. Under David Seymour’s leadership the ACT Party has grown consistently in strength. No longer content with being a minor party, ACT leader David Seymour stated to the New Zealand Herald in […]
