SA Newsletter 19/02: Power to the People
SA Newsletter 19/02: Power to the People
Kia Ora To All Members And Supporters Of Socialist Aotearoa,
What a whirlwind few weeks it has been. Margaret Thatcher popped her clogs and the champagne glasses came out. New Zealand's Parliament legalised gay marriage and the champagne came out again. In south Auckland socialists and even Lucy Lawless joined the Mana Movement in providing free breakfast and lunch to two thousand school children as part of the Feed the Kids campaign. Five thousand teachers filled Queen Street in a show of power against the government's attacks on education and Labour and the Greens announcement of a single electricity purchaser to keep our power prices down has wiped hundreds of millions of dollars of the share price of New Zealand electricity companies and has the Mighty River Power CEO crying about their 'socialist plan'. And John Key's fiasco with the illegal spying of New Zealanders by the GCSB and his cronyism and constant brain fades continues to hurt the government in the polls.
With the first privatisation commencing and the politics of electricity being hotly debated it's important that Auckland sees a big Aotearoa is Not for Sale march on Saturday against the government. Details are below.
Also this week comes ANZAC Day, in which the armed forces and corporate media collaborate to make sure we remember as little as possible about the wars of the past. With New Zealand's participation in the occupation of Afghanistan coming to an end its important we remember the reasons and the consequences of this conflict. With Thursday falling on Anzac Day our branch meeting will begin with a history of New Zealand's participation in wars of empire from Gallipoli to Vietnam, Iraq to Afghanistan and the contribution of the anti-war movements to their end. It's an important meeting. Until we remember that imperial wars are never fought for peace and security but for power and oil it's only a matter of years before New Zealand soldiers are killing and being killed in another foreign land.
Socialist Aotearoa branch
meeting
Lest We Remember: Gallipoli, Vietnam,
Afghanistan - New Zealand's role in the wars of empire and
our anti-war movements
When: 7.30pm,
Thursday 25 April
Where: Unite, 6a
Western Springs Road, Kingsland.
Power to the
People! - Aotearoa is Not for Sale
It's time for
the government to listen to the majority of New Zealand. A
National Day of Action with protests in eight cities across
the country organised by Aotearoa Not For Sale Coalition to
stop asset sales.
"I'm marching on Saturday 27th at the Aotearoa is not for Sale protest action for a number of reasons. My disgust at allowing those who have benefited most from tax cuts being subsidized to buy assets my mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunties, cousins, uncles and brothers have already paid for burns me with injustice but the main reason I am marching on Saturday is for my beautiful 3 year old daughter.The promise of democracy is that we can look into the faces of our children and know they will get a better of it than we did. I refuse to look into her eyes and know she will get less than I did." - Martyn Bradbury, Blogger and media commentator
When: 2pm,
Saturday 27 April
Where: Britomart,
Queen Street, Auckland
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/151078145052593/?ref=25
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>>>News and
Analysis>>>
Return to
torture island
The Australian government has
forcibly returned 38 of the 66 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who
landed on Australia's west coast this month asking for help
from New Zealand.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/return-to-torture-island.html
Stop
asset sales - Renationalise
This year, on
Saturday April 27th, people will gather again to say that
Aotearoa is Not for Sale. But this time we have a message
too, to Labour and the Greens- Renationalise State Assets,
and when you do, put People before Profit.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/stop-asset-sales-renationalise.html
April
27- Time to fight Thatcher's Spawn in New
Zealand
Last week, Thatcher died, but we are
still fighting a battle against her legacy. The sabotage
begun by her acolyte, Roger Douglas, is today being
continued by John Key and his National Party government.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/april-27-time-to-fight-thatchers-spawn.html
The
Teachers Strike Back
On Saturday the 13th of
April thousands of primary school teachers and supporters
marched in Auckland and other towns and cities around the
country.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/education-is-not-for-sale.html
Education
is Not for $ale
What could possibly come next on
the education agenda of the National Government? Lesson
plans sponsored by corporations? "Good morning pupils.
Today's recorder lesson is brought to you by iTunes, where
all your favourite songs are just a click away."
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/education-is-not-for-ale.html
Charting
the Class Struggle
Ding, Dong reached number two
in the UK charts after selling over 52,000 copies. The
pro-Thatcher campaign could only manage just short of 9,000
sales of an irreverent punk rock anthem 'I'm in love with
Margaret Thatcher'. The corporate media may eulogise the
Thatcher years, but the public have nothing but disgust for
the vile woman and her policies.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/charting-class-struggle.html
The
Blue Rose - Taking on the system
The Blue Rose,
TV3's new television series starring Outrageous Fortune's
Antonia Prebble and Siobhan Marshall, is taking on the
system.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/the-blue-rose-taking-on-system.html
Jellyfish
and Climate Change
Man-made greenhouse gas
emissions are warming the planet. Scientists predict that by
2100 the planet will be hotter than it's been since the time
of the dinosaurs and that both polar ice caps will
melt.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/jellyfish-and-climate-change.html
Socialism
or barbarism in Korea
We cannot continue with
the current system of international politics. It is
fratricide from a moral standpoint, and suicide from a
social and economic standpoint. We demand a permanent end to
all imperialist wars, occupations, thefts, intimidation and
bullying. For peace and socialism on the Korean
peninsula.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/socialism-or-barbarism-in-korea.html
NZ
SuperFund investing in illegal Israeli
settlements
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund,
($20 billion of taxpayer investments that funds our
pensions) currently holds investments in over forty Israeli
companies including two Israeli banks that finance the
construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the
Palestinian West Bank.
http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/nz-superfund-investing-in-illegal.html
--
See
you on the streets,
Socialist Aotearoa
www.socialistaotearoa.org
ENDS