Socialist Aotearoa

The photo above shows scabs unloading a Maersk ship this morning at Ports of Auckland. Is Auckland now a Port of Convenience ? Help Save Our Port Join us to rally to Save Our Port and stand up for job security for the port workers and their families and for a publically owned sustainable and successful port. This is an issue for all of us - casualisation is not good for workers or their families. This is a growing story of working in New Zealand - even when workers already offer a lot of flexibility, they are expected to give more, and often to give up any hope of a structured and healthy life. Support the port workers , meet at Britomart at 4pm, Saturday 10th March. Entertainment and speeches at Teal Park to follow.

"What neoliberalism has done has been to isolate and enforce a very pure form of the logic of capitalism itself. This, as we have seen in the case of universities, is a logic of competition and profit. Challenging this logic means pursuing a different kind of world, governed by different priorities - those, for example, of social justice, environmental sustainability and genuine democracy. Preserving and developing what is valuable in existing universities can't be sep- arated from the broader struggle against capitalism itself." - Alex Callinicos

2011 was a year of revolution and resistance from Tunis and Cairo to Moscow and Beijing, from Wall Street and Wisconsin to Athens and London. The spirit of rebellion and the mood for change came to Aotearoa via facebook and twitter, Al-Jazeera and the Guardian but also via globetrotting activists who had participated in the Arab Spring in places like Bahrain’s Pearl Roundabout, in Chile’s student movement for free education or been arrested in Occupy Wall Street and brought ideas and courage back to Auckland or sent their encouragement and advice. The wave of occupations at Auckland University and the barricading of the Business School, the rise of the Mana Movement, Occupy Auckland and the disruption of the National Party conference, the enthusiasm amongst working people for do-it-yourself rebellion from the Marton meatworkers’ struggle to the Glen Innes housing campaign were experiences tens of thousands of people will carry with them for life. As one commentator wrote, "You may

Near Benneydale, in the southern King Country, a Crafar farm has been occupied by iwi. Members of Ngati Rereahu deep in the Rohepotae have moved to occupy one of the Crafar farms in the central North Island calling for the Government to sell them the farms where their ancestors are buried. They plan to move shipping containers bearing protest banners to the side of the nearby highway and say they are prepared to stay for the long haul. A Ngati Rereahu spokesperson, Edward Moana-Emery, says the protest is a continuation of the 126-year fight with the Crown and will be part of its Treaty claim. The land was once part of the iwi's ancestral whenua and two Maori land trusts were part of the Crafar farms purchase group trying to buy back the land. Mr Moana-Emery told Checkpoint the iwi has the money to buy the farms and is serious about owning the land The occupation of one of the sixteen farms up for possible sale to a Chinese consortium is a blow to the Government's privatisati

Maori and Pakeha united against racism Mana stalwarts Kereama Pene from Ratana and Syd Keepa, Vice President of the CTU The real loathsome parasitical minority who bludge off the majority- the Rich. Albert Street, Auckland was aloud with honking and shouting last Thursday and for once it wasn’t due to a traffic jam. 60 protesters armed the streets with banners and flags to bring attention to the disgusting display of racism and hatred Paul Holmes showed in his last Herald article. The article entitled ‘Waitangi Day a complete waste’ was laden with shocking and degrading descriptions of Waitangi Day and Maori people. Holmes claimed Waitangi Day produces ‘hatred, rudeness and violence.’ He continued to say ‘This enables (Maori) to blissfully continue to believe that New Zealand is the centre of the world, no one has to have a job and the Treaty is all that matters.’ John Minto from Global Peace and Justice Auckland was the first to speak at the rally telling people that Holmes has a bro

Media Release Socialist Aotearoa 9.30am 19/02/2012 Protesters still in vacant Glen Innes state house A dozen protesters will stay in an empty Glen Innes state house today and tonight after police agreed to let protesters continue their sit-in. One of the Glen Innes Housing New Zealand sections due to be sold to property speculators in May, 25 Silverton Ave, Glen Innes, was taken over on Saturday by members of the community who held a BBQ on the front lawn. "The evictions in Glen Innes of tenants like Moepai Temata , whose story featured on TVNZ's Close Up programme on Friday night, should be stopped and the Glen Innes properties should remain with Housing New Zealand to house future generations of Aucklanders," said Socialist Aotearoa spokesperson Shane Malva. "State houses were intended as spacious, healthy family homes for life and many were given to soldiers returning from World War Two. For the Government to then attempt to evict families in Glen Innes including

The youth of GI- defending State Housing the People's House, 25 Silverton Avenue, GI. 17 year old Scott Hita occupying his Aunt's House of 20 years, with SA's George Mitchell GI don't stop till we get the PoPo off the Block! The residents of Glen Innes and their supporters have had enough. In opposition to the evictions of Housing New Zealand, the People's House of 25 Silverton Avenue has been occupied. One of the protestors, 17 year old Scott Hita, has occupied the house that his Aunt lived in for 20 years before she was moved on. The police have already been round in force, but there is tension in the air. Mass arrests and evictions will ignite this working class suburb of Auckland, and the ruling class is nervous about going in heavy. So this Monday, hip hop artists, musicians, poets and social justice campaigners are rallying at the People's House to demand an end to the evictions, and the right of working class New Zealanders to live in the suburb that t

Late Summer anti-capitalist with articles on Glen Innes , China , Iran , Greece and Nemamo Ime .

Moepai Temata, resident for 47 years in GI will not be moving out without a fight. History was made last night in Glen Innes when residents decided to fight the National government’s plans to sell off their state houses. The community organised meeting was held at Grace Church and facilitated by local resident Lisa Gibson. Tariana Turia, Phil Heatley and Mayor of Auckland Len Brown all sent excuses for their non-attendance. Clearly they have better things to do than listen to residents concerns about the ‘Tamaki Development Project” which will involve the eviction of 156 long-term community members. Some of which have been there for 57 years. Mana Party Leader Hone Harawira, Local Councillor Richard Northey and Labour Party MP Phil Twyford came to hear the community voice their outrage at the plans to displace residents in the name of profit. National MP’s; Alfred Ngaro, Simon O’Connor and Sam Lotu-liga sat in shame listening to the pain and suffering they are causing to the community

Chris Trotter, Bomber Bradbury and Joe Carolan speak at the formation of the Aotearoa is Not For Sale campaign, Unite Union, Feb 9th 2011. With thanks to Vinny Eastwood, aka MrNews.

Paul Holmes racist rantings in the Weekend Herald have the potential to cause racial disharmony. This bigot is attempting to stir up anger and ridicule against Maori and in turn sister against sister, brother against brother, friend against friend. Paul Holmes last racist column has already created a legitimation that racists and bigots around New Zealand are using to denigrate Maori. We call on all Aucklanders who oppose racism and who were offended by Holmes's slurs to join us in a picket of the NZ Herald this Thursday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm If Holmes writing, which encourages prejudice and hate of all Maori is tolerated by our media then New Zealand, will reap worse and more disgusting forms of racism in the future, Organised by www.socialistaotearoa.org Socialist Aotearoa is an anti-capitalist, anti-racist organisation of workers and students, Maori and Pakeha. @ NZ Herald Office, 46 Albert Street, Auckland

Internal contradictions: The aftermath of a 2011 riot by Chinese workers. China has made it. Its GDP continues to increase around 10% a year (phenomenal!), it has a leading and indispensable role in the global market, and it has a large but stable population whose living standards continue to improve. China really is a success. The IMF writes that “by nearly all accounts [Deng’s] strategy has worked spectacularly.” Deng Xiaoping was the leader of the CCP who introduced economic changes under the banner of ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ in the late seventies. The growing strength of the Chinese economy is attributed to these policies and were the beginning of what has been three and a half decades of radical neoliberalization of the economy. However the praise China has reaped in the last few decades has come almost exclusively from its ‘successful’ economic policies. Most mainstream news articles about China ignore the occupations of Tibet, Inner Mongolia and East Turk

Our movement needs to use every opportunity to build resistance to the agenda of the 1 percent--whether that means bigger struggles or smaller ones. US Socialist Worker- February 8, 2012 THE OCCUPY encampments of last fall are nearly all gone--cleared, often brutally, in a series of police raids. Nevertheless, the Occupy movement sticks to U.S. politics like a burr. Even Republican presidential candidates have acknowledged "vulture capitalism" and inequality. Democrats talk tough about how they'll stand up for the 99 percent...if only you vote for them in November. These signs of the Occupy movement's impact even within the narrow confines of mainstream politics show that the movement slogan is right: "You can't evict an idea whose time has come." The main theme of Occupy--that the hard-pressed majority in society is fed up with the greed, corruption and power of the 1 percent--continues to resonate, shaping the ideas and beliefs of mill

Kate Wilkinson announced this afternoon that the minimum wage would increase by 50 cents in New Zealand on April 1st 2012, to a new rate of $13.50. Anger is already brewing in many worksites of low paid workers, who will be voting for a campaign to deliver much more. "Anger amongst the near half a million workers on less than $15ph in New Zealand will not be bought off with the 50 cent increase in the minimum wage today. Our workers in cinemas and fastfoods are voting to campaign for a living wage of $15ph this year. The government increase of 3.8% is a tacit admission that hundreds of thousands of workers in NZ just dont earn enough to live on adequately. Especially when workers in low paid jobs have no security of hours, and have their rosters changed from week to week. Casualisation and underemployment are the hidden scourges of the lowest paid workers in this society, and this problem will not be solved with half a dollar. " -Joe Carolan, Campaign for a Living Wage organ

In our current state of continual environmental degradation, it is important for people to reconnect with the natural world so that our interest in protecting vital resources becomes an essential part of our lives. I had never taken much interest in growing vegetable fruit and herbs, worm farming or bee keeping and certainly not creating compost. Having grown up in the concrete jungles of our planet’s major cities, my infinity with nature was never firmly cemented until I went travelling in my late teens. I’m not alone in this; I have met many people who fit the same trend. It is a simple fact of industrialised society that most people buy their food from a company; usually a supermarket chain. But why? Why do we not encourage our city dwelling youngsters an appreciation of the natural world? and perhaps more importantly; Why do we not teach them how to cultivate food? I recently took a keen interest in my local community garden. It was set up three years ago as part of a global moveme

Charter Schools. Crafar Farms. Deep Sea Oil Drilling by Petrobas off the East Coast. Wharfies facing the sack as Ports Of Auckland gears up to privatise. And now no Treaty when it comes to selling off Public Assets. New Zealand is for sale. Come to the Socialist Forum this Thursday to begin organising the fightback to defend Aotearoa. Invite friends to the Facebook event HERE. Guest speakers: Blogger Bomber Bradbury and historian Chris Trotter. 7pm this Thursday, 9 February at Unite. Hosted by www.socialistaotearoa.org

" A year after our glorious revolution and it's only getting started..revolution until victory 25 Jan 2012"

In an interview with the BBC Professor Tam David-West, the former Petroleum Minister, said that the planned removal of fuel subsidy will “squeeze the economy, increase inflation, hurt businesses and the public”. The people of the African country of Nigeria have a long history of struggle against capitalism, dating back to when it was first introduced in colonial times by the British imperialists. Their struggle has continued both within and beyond the border, but in recent years the continuation of the oppression has been tolerated less and less, most recently due to the proposed removal of the fuel subsidy by the countries governors – the People’s Democratic Party, headed by Goodluck Jonathan. This party is anything but democratic – since 1999, they have racked up an appalling human rights record with reports of torture and dismemberment, destroyed civil liberties such as same-sex relationships by punishing the victims of said law with up to 5 years in jail, slashed funding to the pu