Hoping everyone had a wonderful Labour Day! If you were too busy enjoying your freedom to ponder and remember the meaning and significance of this day, there are a couple of nice social justice events on this week help you out.
On Tuedsday night, the Labour party are partying with the Fabian Society.It’s the 75th birthday party of the Social Security Act in New Zealand. To celebrate there will be acouple of speakers:
-Michael Belgrave: The welfare state: where from?
-Grant Duncan: The welfare state: where to?
Jacinda Ardern will MC and there will be some closing remarks from Sue Moroney. It’ll be from 7-9pm at the St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont St, Ponsonby.
Also on Tuesday, Professor Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University will be speaking at the Auckland Museum. He will present on ‘Avoiding Global Collapse’ and will be talking about the importance of understanding cultural evolution in influencing how Homo sapiens are changing the planet and our own life-support systems. He will discuss how the two kinds of evolution have interacted to create the human predicament – the imminent threat of a collapse of civilization. He will then discuss the evolutionary steps necessary to avoid that dénouement. After Auckland, he’s going to:
-Wellington, Wed 30 Oct, 6.00pm
-Christchurch, Thurs 31 Oct, 6.30pm
-Dunedin, Fri 1 Nov, 6.30pm
Then, on Wednesday, it’s the annual Bruce Jesson lecture. The Rt Hon Sir Edmund Thomas will be speaking on ‘Reducing Inequality: A strategy for a cause’. He will argue that New Zealand’s gross level of inequality is the result of neoliberal reforms made in the 1980s. He will advocate a strategy to provide a cohesive approach to address and remedy this inequality. It’s happening at 6.30 at the Maidment Theatre, Auckland University.
Also on Wednesday is Give us a Break! It’s a nation wide event, organised by Unite Union. Get together with your work colleagues for a tea break-while you still have one! The government is making changes which will make it harder for workers to access decent wages and conditions. Register your workplace here.
On Saturday, it’s the Starboard Paddle for Hope down at the waterfront. If you can donate, it’d be appreciated, if not, head down and show your support to the teams.
The Waiheke Walking Festival also continues this week and the Waiheke Book Festival is on weekend, so it’d be the perfect time to head over to the island with lots of stuff happening!
