Political analysis and commentary shaping the progressive debate in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on power, policy, and accountability.
In 1946, the year after the end of World War Two, New Zealand introduced a minimum wage that was 83% of the average wage and a universal family benefit of 10 shillings a week for every child. This benefit was made universal, tax-free and not means-tested.
The first quarter of 2020 ended with a total of 407 Israeli Gaza ceasefire violations, to which the Palestinian Resistance responded with 59 of their own
April 5: Day eleven of living in lock-down…
April 4: Day 10 of living in lock-down…
As with the myth about economic growth being a rising tide that lifts all ships, it’s also not true that the falling tide effects all workers equally. Some of the CEOs on multi-million-dollar salaries who were paid – and failed- to anticipate business disruption, face a cut to their incomes, but workers lose their whole livelihoods.
For 150 years, capitalism has always been a system that breeds inequality, racism, war, oppression and exploitation. That’s enough for me to want to end this system. Recent decades have revealed the fact that this system is also incapable of coexisting with the needs of the planet itself as a consequence of global warming and climate change.
Big business is dead keen to get us all back to “business as usual” in quick time with the government priority to put the corporate sector first. We must resist this, not only for our own personal and community health, but also because there is no intention to shift from a business as usual agenda.
April 3: Day 9 of living in lock-down…
Over the years, Unite Union has fought for better redundancy terms for our workers at Skycity.
We’re just over a week into our national lockdown in what continues to be some of the most historic developments of our time.