Students in the Degree Factory: Alienation and Mental Health
Mental health is in crisis across the world. This is felt acutely in New Zealand too. The Mental Health Commissioner reported that nearly half of New Zealanders will live with mental illness and/or addiction at some point during their lifetime. This is a rate of nearly one-in-five New Zealanders who live with mental illness or […]
Radical History on Campus
ISO members on campuses across the country detail some of the historic moments of student activism in Aotearoa. Natasha Hope-Johnstone, Angus Wilson, Guy McCallum, Joshua O’Sullivan, Jules Courtine, Romany Tasker-Poland, and Emile Wilmar contributed to this article. Otago University The fight to undo the introduction of neo-liberalism into many of the tertiary educational systems around […]
The Fourth Labour Government and the Destruction of the Welfare State
Ever wonder about the days when universities were free and not run as a business? When the social welfare safety net was available to all that needed it and could sustain a decent living? When the government worked towards a goal of total employment, not enabling a system that requires unemployment to function? When vital […]
Labour’s Housing Policy: What does it mean for Porirua?
It did not take long for Labour’s flagship KiwiBuild housing policy to come to grief; and if ever there was a minister likely to embarrass the Ardern government it was that rightwinger Phil Twyford. It was he who in 2015 infamously blamed Chinese for Auckland’s high house prices. The failure to get anywhere near Labour’s […]
State ‘care’ and stolen generations
“Oranga Tamariki told me I had five minutes to say goodbye to my baby and then they were going to take it… I hung onto my baby but I was worried they were going to hurt me and the baby.” These are the words of a young mother who in May resisted multiple attempts by […]
Teachers’ Strikes: Lessons from our Struggle
Teacher and ISO member Romany Tasker-Poland, on learning from the teachers’ strikes. The teachers, primary and secondary, have had a victory (if a partial one). It has been a long fight. The first teachers’ strike was by NZEI primary teachers in August 2018. Primary teachers struck again in November in the form of rolling regional […]
Teachers’ Strikes: a win, and the coming challenge
Strikes work. That’s the lesson of the teachers’ industrial action in May and earlier. Chris Hipkins said there was no more money. Within days of the teachers’ action – a massive rallying of primary and secondary striking together – an additional $271 million were somehow discovered. Teachers went on strike not just for their own […]
Welfare: Reform or Transformation?
The Labour government has promised to deliver transformational change with a positive impact on the lives of New Zealanders. Shortly after being elected three years ago, the Prime Minister named herself as “Minister for Child Poverty Reduction” and convened the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) to examine our welfare system and propose reforms. The government […]
Power in union – teachers strike for education
Teachers from both secondary, primary, and area schools went on strike in their thousands yesterday to show their determination and frustration with the negotiations with the Ministry of Education and Education Minister Chris Hipkins. Union strength and union pride rang out throughout Aotearoa. The combined strength of both unions was palpable. Teachers downed their whiteboard […]
Who gains from Capital Gains?
The Tax Working Group, set up by the Labour-led government in 2018, has released its first volume of findings. This is where the government’s proposed capital gains tax is beginning to take shape, and a useful analysis underpinning the work of this group is important to understanding the broader political narratives arising from the working […]
