If you didn’t vote you can still complain
The day after National’s resounding electoral victory, social media was awash with people blaming nonvoters for National’s victory. News feeds expressing sentiments like, “What’s wrong with you people?” came quick and fast. Martyn Bradbury from the Daily Blog epitomizes this, “I was wrong, horribly, horribly, horribly wrong. I honestly believed that the resources, the media […]
Lessons to learn from bitter defeat
This was a defeat, and a big one. We have to start with this unpleasant reality. National, on the current results, could govern alone if they chose; at 48% their share of the vote has actually increased compared to the last election. This is an extraordinary situation. Over one million people voted for National. The Herald calls Key […]
Foreigners are not to blame: nationalism and the elections
While the fall-out from Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics is the standout feature of the general election campaign, some of the foremost policy questions have been around the interrelated issues of housing, land ownership, and immigration. Labour, Green and Internet Mana have taken a nationalist, anti-foreigner stand alongside New Zealand First, who claim this territory as their own. […]
Prison reform on the path to prison abolition
[An activist and friend of ISO submitted this article to Socialist Review, and we were happy to print it in our latest issue. National’s announcement last week of more plans for ‘working prisons’ gives the article an added relevance and urgency. You can subscribe to Socialist Review here.] “Those of us that identify as prison […]
Are the Greens a Left Alternative?
Brian S. Roper takes an in-depth look at the policies and politics of the Greens. Introduction As indicated by the major polls, support for the Green Party ranged from around 11% to 13% throughout 2014. The Green Party received 11% of the vote and 14 MPs at the 2011 general election, compared to Labour’s 27.5% […]
Nicky Hager Q&A on “Dirty Politics”
Nicky Hager’s book “Dirty Politics” has captured the headlines since it was released and has rocked this election campaign. At a recent public meeting in Auckland, Nicky Hager engaged with the public answering questions and explaining the ethos behind the book and how he came to write it. Josh O’Sullivan was there. It was […]
World War One: the Fight against Conscription
Amidst all the patriotic furor this centenary, the real history of the war is all too easily forgotten. The government and the opposition alike cry crocodile tears for the fallen and mouth “Never again!”, while daisy cutters are dropped on Afghanistan and the history books are (re)re-written. In high-school classrooms and history-books, we are taught […]
Con Devitt: One the Bosses Hated
Con Devitt, an outstanding trade union militant, socialist and organizer, has died at the age of 86. Devitt, a long-time leader of the Boilermakers’ Union in Wellington, made an enormous contribution to the class struggle and the workers’ movement, especially in his important periods of leadership in the 1970s and 1980s. From a working-class home […]
Women and the Early Years of Japanese Communism
Shomi Yoon gave this talk as part of Marxism 2014 in Melbourne. Marxism 2015 will take place from April 2 – 5. “What sort of woman are you? Demonstrating when you should be at home looking after your children?” This was the question Sadayo Nakasone faced by the arresting officer for participating in the first […]
Should socialists support the Internet-Mana alliance? A Reply
[The ISO recently published an article ‘Should Socialists Support the Internet-Mana Alliance?‘, the product of discussion within our organisation. This is a response and a contribution to the debate from Martin Gregory, a member of our Poneke branch.] The publication of ‘Should socialists support the Internet-Mana alliance?’ on 18 June on this website marks, in […]
