“Social Bonds”: An Experiment On The Vulnerable
Leith McLean is not a member of the International Socialist Organisation, but kindly allowed us to reprint his article here in order to spread awareness of this important issue. Earlier in June, in the middle of a long weekend and amidst the massive FIFA scandal, National announced a pilot scheme for a radical experiment in […]
Cruel and Usual: Housing NZ Kick Out Tenant
Housing New Zealand has done an about face on its duty of care towards its tenants with more stories coming out every day. Even the mainstream media has picked up on some of the abuses such as the elderly disabled man getting kicked out of his house in Mt Roskil, or the continued stories of […]
The Budget: State of the Nation
Bill English’s “boring budget” is full of miscommunications and misleading information, fairly typical of a right wing government that wants to hide what it really has planned. Included in this budget is the giving away of state land in Auckland, the continuation of massive changes in the public sector and of course wildly hopeful expectations […]
Budget 2015 – Normalising Poverty
Workers on welfare will get an extra $25 a week. This is the “take home message” of Budget 2015. After promising a “boring Budget”, and downplaying any expectations of help for children in poverty, Bill English has delivered a substantial increase to the money struggling families will receive. Of course, there are strings attached. The […]
Mana College Under Attack
Government moves to put Mana College into statutory management smacks of the racism and contempt for workers and the poor that is prevalent throughout the government’s approach to public education. All working people should take an interest in these developments. Mana College, Porirua, had of last year a student composition that was 65% Māori , 18% […]
Disability is a Working-Class Issue
Juliet Thomborson spoke with a person who is disabled and employed as a care worker about some of the issues that come up around disability and work. In what ways have you noticed the latest National government making life harder for you (or other disabled people)? The benefit ‘reforms’ have made life harder: if you’re […]
Students, Workers and the Class Struggle
The history of capitalism is the history of revolt. Throughout the 19th, 20th and now the 21st centuries the capitalist system has been wracked by crises during which the normal functioning of the system is halted, leaving millions of ordinary people with no option other than to rise up. Workers of course, are a wellspring […]
Growing Inequality – and a sign of resistance
The latest Stats NZ Household Income report has revealed that inequality in New Zealand continues to grow. The New Zealand Herald was very careful to split out a number of stories to get the best possible spin, but in combination the picture is stark. The first story was about household income. The median household income […]
The Second Leaders Debate: A Response to Key on Capital Gains Tax
The media has proclaimed John Key the winner of last night leaders’ debate because Labour leader David Cunliffe was caught off guard by Key’s question as to whether his proposed capital gains tax would apply to “300,000 family homes held in trusts”. Given that Key made over $5 million dollars in tax-free capital gains last […]
AAAP Impact Mangere
Last week I saw the faces of poverty in Aotearoa. Not sad, withdrawn and dirty as we often see in child poverty promotions but angry, frustrated and determined, writes Rowan McArthur. Angry at their situation, the government and the government departments which perpetrate and reinforce the violent culture of poverty. Frustrated at constantly being turned […]
