Refugees: Spotlight on Capitalism
“Say It Loud, Say It Clear, Refugees Are Welcome Here!” The rallying call has been heard from Wellington to Sydney to Ottawa to London: a statement of invitation that goes beyond simple acceptance to suggest a real potential for sharing living spaces, resources, and experiences. Such a call touches at the edges of a long-dreamt […]
One Nation, Pauline Hanson, and the Rise of the Far Right
In a May poll, One Nation rode a global wave of support for the far Right, surging ahead of all other Australian parties. What is One Nation? Who is its leader Pauline Hanson? How can we compare this to Aotearoa New Zealand? And what can socialists do to fight the rise of the far Right? […]
The Dawn Raids: Capitalism and Resistance
The real start of the Dawn Raids was not on 13 March 1974. Instead, the true origin lies much earlier, in the post-war economic boom of the 1950s. The industrial expansion at the time created a massive demand for labour, especially cheap labour for manufacturing and construction. The rapid expansion of industry combined with union […]
New Laws Harken Back to the Dawn Raids Era
Under new laws, immigration officers will be able to demand identification from suspected overstayers at their homes and workplaces. These out-of-hours compliance visits harken back to policies of the Dawn Raids era of the 1970s, in which Pacific peoples were forcefully targeted as “overstayers” despite only constituting one-third of migrants staying past the expiration of […]
Migrants are not Disposable Workers!
Last year on 18 December, International Migrants Day, Union Network of Migrants (UNEMIG) joined with other groups to protest outside the office of Immigration Minister Erica Stanford, raising the slogan “migrants are not disposable workers.” Mandeep Bela, president of UNEMIG, said that “today is about recognising the immense contributions of migrants, but also confronting the harsh realities many face. Our immigration system has created a profound power imbalance, trapping workers in silence and fear.”
‘Sinners’ Review – Just for a few hours, we were free
This review contains spoilers for ‘Sinners’ (2025) Why do oppressed peoples create the greatest art? Because they’re forced into conditions which aim to dehumanise them – and persevering through these conditions necessitates the righteous re-assertion of their humanity in its most raw and potent forms. This raw humanity transcends cultural barriers, and indeed opens portals […]
Hate That I Love You – The Migrant Worker
While I should be enjoying summer break, I’ve regrettably been made aware that current online discourse is once again focused on migrant workers and their position in Western society. The debate is taking place on the aggressively Nazi website X.com (formerly Twitter, formerly entertaining) and is centred around the leaders of president-elect Donald Trump’s new […]
In defence of student spaces for Māori and Pasifika
Māori and Pasifika students have a right to their own spaces on university campuses. Campuses can be isolating places at the best of times. This is even more true for Māori and Pasifika students, who have to deal not only with being in the minority on university campuses, but also with a university environment that […]
The Waikeria Uprising
“We are tangata whenua of this land. We are Māori people forced into a European system.” On 29 December 2020 prisoners at Waikeria Prison protested, lighting fires in an exercise yard before climbing onto the roof of the jail. After six days the protest came to an end with the surrender by the remaining 16 […]
Detainees set fire to the Christmas Island Detention Centre
The following article was published on the Australian website Red Flag on 6 January. Among the detainees there are New Zealanders, including Māori and Pacific Islanders. A riot has broken out in the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre, much of which, as of early Wednesday morning, was in flames. The rioters are men who want […]
