Criminal Injustice: Racist Cruelty
Nine years of National rule has left a cruel and brutalising legacy in New Zealand’s criminal justice system. Last year the prison population reached 10,100, an all-time high. The number of people incarcerated has increased by 364 percent in the last 30 years, according to researcher Roger Brooking. The system is racist. Over half of […]
Fascism: then and now
Josh O’Sullivan gave this talk to the Auckland branch of the International Socialists in September. This talk is both a reflection and a call to arms. Political movements around the world are growing and although people are clamouring more and more for an alternative to capitalism, so to are people looking to the most backward […]
An Act of Cultural Resistance
The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story by Ramzy Baroud (Pluto Press, London 2018) Ramzy Baroud’s The Last Earth is a collection of eight narratives told by ordinary Palestinians who have, in their own way, struggled against the violence inflicted upon their country by Israel over the past one hundred years. The book bears witness to […]
Far Right Routed in Auckland
Attempts by far right hate groups to organise a movement in Aotearoa have suffered a heavy blow after the united efforts of the radical left and concerned community groups this weekend. A speaking event by alt-right personalities Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux was cancelled following protests, and a rally for supporters of the British right-wing […]
Molyneux and Southern: These racists are not welcome here
The past few years have seen the far right increasingly pick up the mantle of “free speech” in response to any and all criticism of their ideas. Absurdly, we are informed that us telling them they’re wrong in their racism is an attack on freedom of speech as opposed to a simple exercise of that […]
Trump and the Alt Right
Why should we be concerned about yet another rightwing American president or pay attention to the ravings of disgruntled keyboard warriors? Trump is an orange ball of arrogance and the alt-right thrives on outrage. But they are worth watching because both are products of a crisis in neoliberal ideology. The mainstream media in New Zealand, […]
Trump, fire and fury
The arrival of Donald Trump into the Whitehouse has escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula. In recent months, Trump has goaded the North Korean regime on an almost daily basis. In August, he threatened to unleash “fire, fury and frankly power” if the North does not halt their nuclear weapons programme. In September, at the […]
There are no white people
A pleasing irony to end the year: enrolments by non-Māori in Māori language courses in the Wellington region have surged recently, encouraged in part it seems by the reactionary campaign against the use of Te Reo Māori on Radio New Zealand. It’s a welcome sign. Socialists support any and all efforts to revitalise, preserve and […]
Wellington says no to racism and fascism
At lunchtime today, hundreds of people gathered outside parliament to say no to racism. The event, organised by the Migrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, was a protest against the annual gathering of National Front fascists and a commemoration of the New Zealand land wars. It drew in scores of individuals as well as campaigners from […]
Kick National Out! Build a Socialist Alternative
Kick National out! –Build a Socialist Alternative, Reject Racism – the Left must welcome immigrants. These are the two slogans our special conference resolved should guide the International Socialist Organisation’s approach to the upcoming election. Over 25 members spent the weekend of 8 – 9 July in Auckland debating our perspectives and approach. Debates covered […]
