Mana and working class consciousness
On April 30 this year, a new political party was formed by former Maori Party MP Hone Harawira – Te Mana Party. It was formed from a left split, as Harawira was expelled for opposing his party’s support for the National Government. Mana immediately drew support from veteran activist and lawyer Annette Sykes and Unite […]
Socialists and Mana
The general situation was depressing. In the third year of John Key’s administration he and National were massively ahead of Phil Goff and Labour in the opinion polls. More dismally still, action by unionists was at rock bottom. The number of work stoppages for 2010 was the lowest since the Statistics New Zealand series begun […]
Prison Reveals Priorities of Sick System
The incredible cost of imprisonment, which has increased dramatically over the last two decades, reveals the sick priorities of the capitalist system. Unable to find the cash to pay for decent health and education and warm, dry housing for working class people, our rulers are happy to waste hundreds of thousands on imprisoning thousands. The […]
Pigs, Drugs, and Capitalism
Legalise marijuana, heroin, cocaine, speed, LSD, Ecstasy, opium, mushrooms, mescalin, ketamine, peyote and ether! Provide accurate information on drugs to people of all ages! Fund independent scientific and social research into drugs! Supply cheap and safe prescribed drugs through doctors and pharmacies! Send every pig that’s ever made a drug bust, every MP that’s made […]
He pokeke uenuku i tu ai: the evolution of contemporary Maori protest
“Historically, the intensity and momentum of Maori political activism has never been consistent. Upturns in protest activity are followed by downturns in struggle and vice versa. The 1970s were witness to a dramatic upsurge in Maori activism which had a profound effect on New Zealand Society. The political turbulence created in the wake of the 1975 […]
What’s behind the Gangs Panic?
In Dunedin, the coming of a new onslaught in the media campaign against gangs was heralded by a mildly positive article in the Otago Daily Times in January 1996 concerning Mangu Kaha Aotearoa (Black Power New Zealand) setting up house in Ravensbourne, an outer Dunedin suburb. Accompanied by a photograph of a Mangu Kaha member […]
