Facing hard reality, but not giving in to pessimism
In January this website published a talk I had given at the ISO annual conference in November 2015. The subject was an assessment of the current political situation in Aotearoa. It was a dour, sober account of unchanged weakness of the unions, Labour and the left and the corresponding strength of the Key government and […]
Māori struggles and the TPPA
Earlier this month the blessings of Ranginui washed the hikoi as it made its way to the powhiri at Te Tii Marae at Waitangi in the midst of pouring rain. Around 200 people assembled. Some had made the long march from Northland to Auckland and back, others, like us, joined after the massive anti TPPA […]
TPPA – this fight is not over
More than 20,000 demonstrators brought Auckland’s CBD to a standstill on Thursday, protesting the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Braving threats of a heavy-handed response from police, activists blockaded the signing venue at the SkyCity casino, shutting down intersections and impeding traffic in the surrounding area. As their numbers swelled through the morning, […]
No TPPA! Grasping Tuwhare’s Elusive Star
Normally I’d open here with statistics. I’d give you a scale of numbers, refer back to the biggest estimate, talk, only slightly ironically, about the power in numbers. Power in a few hundred, couple thousand. Today, I’m opening with the power in tens of thousands. 20,000-30,000 people marching through Auckland city; shutting down roads, business, […]
Dunedin Protests the TPPA
The TPPA may be signed this week but opposition to the free trade agreeement is riding higher than ever. In Dunedin on Friday night, TPPA opponent Prof Jane Kelsey spoke to a capacity crowd of 350 or so people in Burns Hall. The battle was far from over, she said. The signing of the treaty […]
Challenging war and racism after Paris
A statement by our sister group in the US, International Socialist Organization. The criminal slaughter of innocent people in Paris by gunmen and suicide bombers acting for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is being seized upon by the forces of militarism, empire and the anti-immigrant right. They want to exploit the outpouring […]
Weapons Conference Warmongers Unwelcome
At 8am this morning a group of around 150 people began blockading and protesting the annual New Zealand Defence Industry Association conference. The action is set to go on for as long as possible throughout the day. The action was organised by anti-war group Peace Action Wellington. Many Wellingtonians were there as were groups from […]
Nationalist poison no medicine against the TPPA
There are plenty of good reasons to oppose the TPPA. It’s part of U.S. imperialism’s strategy against China in the Asia-Pacific, working in the economic sphere as the ‘tilt to Asia’ does in the military. It gives greater powers to capitalists, and will be used to water down labour rights and environmental protections. It threatens […]
TPP – Agreement for the Rich
As an International Trade agreement very little within the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) is actually new. The TPPA has been an ongoing process since the early 1980s that has grown in scope and power to now attempt to cover 40% of the world’s GDP. It’s important to place it in its context of imperialism to understand […]
TPPA: An Agreement for the Ruling Class
Agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) was reached early on Tuesday morning. The final signing could occur in 90 days’ time, with the text likely to be made publically available for the first time during the that period. John Key and Tim Groser claim that deal will not impact Pharmac’s ability to subsidise the cost […]
