Downsize Your Ego, Joe

Excerpts from a press release on today's "Scoop" by Unite organisor and Socialist Workers Organisation member, Joe Carolan.

"Unite’s Supersizemypay.com campaign to unionise young workers in the fast food multinational chains has taken hold of a generation’s imagination, in a way I haven’t seen since the big pre-war mobilisations of Feb 15th 2003. Make no mistake, this new trade unionism is a social movement of the young, the brown, the immigrant and the poor, and in store after store, we are getting 100% per cent votes for strike action."

"I’ve just returned from a night’s visting, recruiting and balloting, meeting workers on the graveyard shifts all over South Central Auckland. In the KFC in Balmoral, same as the Pizza Hut in Royal Oak or the McDonald’s in Greenlane, there’s one sentence I keep hearing from our members and delegates- “when’s it our turn to strike?”. Young workers are flaunting company rules, proudly wearing their Unite union badges and $12 an hour stickers on their uniforms at work, and you can even see them walk differently. Stroppier, taller, more confident- staunch. Itching for their turn to take action in what promises to be Auckland’s Hot Summer."

"At times, you feel like the Bolsheviks during the July Days. A premature uprising runs great risks, especially up against the enemies that we face. This is a David and Goliath battle. But what makes you realise that this is a movement for social justice and not just an exercise in collective bargaining, is the energy, creativity and thirst to have a go at the multinationals that you find in every store. Elements of the anti capitalist movement might have been misguided in their calls to boycott these chains- all along, we were really needed inside them organising young working class people."

"Socialists and Workers Charter activists have been at the heart of this uprising, and at the time this article was written, were building flat out for a solidarity rally with the 30 brave KFC workers striking at Balmoral. In the weeks to come, the strikes will spread out to Lincoln Road, Royal Oak, and into the centre of the city and Queen Street. At the Unite strategy meetings, we often talk about Farrell Dobbs and the Teamsters rebellion in Minneapolis- and how a small group of dedicated socialists could build a massive citywide union movement. Hopefully this summer we will have our Fastfood Rebellion, and we hope thousands of low paid workers in petrol stations, supermarkets and video stores go on to follow our example."


Questions; How many of the 18 or 19 year old fast food workers on Unite's books realise they are part of a "movement for social justice"? How many of these young people would sacrifice pay and their boss' goodwill if they knew they were simply pawns in a power game? How many of them want to help Marxist nutters like Joe Carolan, build a revolutionary movement in the burger bars of Auckland that will shake international capitalism to its foundations? Downsize your ego Joe.

Keith Locke-A Wasted Life Part 4 (Final for Now)

In 1997 the Green Party left the Alliance. Though not a Green Party member, Keith Locke went with them. he quickly became the Greens Foreign Affairs spokesman and in 1999 he entered parliament at number 7 on the Green Party list.

Immediately Locke upped his campaign against the proposed FI6 fighter deal with US.
Eventually the deal was scrapped by the Labour government. Had the deal gone ahead, our old Skyhawk jet fighters would have gone to the Philippines military. The communist New Peoples Army probably wouldn't have been pleased.

Even though an MP, Locke maintained his links with Marxist-Leninists. In May 2000, Locke attended the Socialist Workers Organisation's "Socialism 2000" conference in Auckland. He starred in the opening debate "Is Global Capitalism Under Seige" with Mike Treen, an old comrade from the Socialist Action League and Joe Carolan from the SWO.

In 2003 a new magazine was launched in Auckland. Titled "Red & Green". It is linked with the Alliance Party but accepts contributions from a wide range of socialists. It's editorial board consists of Jill Oven's (NZ Cuba Friendship Society, Alliance Party), Cathy Casey (Auckland City Councillor, Alliance Party, partner of Matt McCarten), Len Richards (ex Socialist Labour League, Alliance Party) and Mike Treen (ex SAL, ex Communist League, Alliance Party).

Locke contributed an article to the first issue, "Labour and the War in Iraq" in it he wrote a wish list of actions a more courageous Labour Government would help to tackle;
"...specific collective actions against the Sharon Government, so that a Palestinian state can be brought into being."
"...campaign publicly against Bush's nuclear agenda, including "Star Wars", the development of "bunker busting" nukes and the threats to use nuclear weapons."
"...champion socially progressive agendas being advanced by governments in places like Brazil and Venezuela."
The last point refers to the Marxist "Workers Party" government in Brazil (part of the old "Links" network ) and Chavez's pro Cuban regime in Venezuela, that is currently the darling of Marxists everywhere.

Locke has links with "Global Justice and Peace,Auckland" a socialist protest group headed by his old comrade, Mike Treen and ex HART leader, John Minto. He is also close to the Christchurch based "Anti Bases Coalition", a motley collection of old Maoists, marxists, anarchists and peaceniks who protest outside the US base at Waihopai every year. In August this year Locke was in Tonga supportig the "Democracy Movement" as it seeks to overturn a the power of the Tongan monarchy. That "revolution" has a significant socialist component.

Keith Locke was born into a communist family and has fought for the cause ever since. He has wasted his life supporting some of the most murderous regimes and movements on the planet. The Green Party is harbouring a hardcore socialist, (not the only one). For a party that worries about pollution, how can they stand the stench of a "red nappy baby" who hasn't "changed" in nigh on 60 years?

Con-sedine

Wayne Mapp, National's PC eradicator has been getting stuck into Canterbury University for reqiring library staff to attend "Treaty Awareness" courses run by Bob Consedine. A well known fruitloop, Consedine has been making money off these things for 15 years.

As all government departments are required to pay lipservice to the "Tiriti o Waitangi" there is a little army of "consultants" earning a living delivering racist/socialist propaganda to our nation's loyal pubic servants.

Many were trained by "Project Waitangi", a taxpayer funded, Workers Communist League infiltrated, organisation that pioneered "Treaty Education" in the late '80s.
While I may sound like a stuck record, my point is that virtually all racial politics in this country is based on Marxist thinking. What we call "Political Correctness" is in fact cultural Maoism and/or the work of Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci" The "Treaty Industry" was started and run by Marxists for the pupose of changing the social fabric of this country. Some have made money off it as well. They probably laugh a lot about that.

"Waitangi Bob" Consedine is a professional propagandist. He was a CORSO activist in the '70s and used that organisation to propagandise against Apartheid in South Africa. "He said CORSO's role was to educate people about Southern Africa. CORSO could reach out to people that HART could never attract to meetings." CHCH Committee on South Africa meeting January '76.

In July 1981, during the Springbok rugby tour, Consedine went to National Party offices in Christchurch and poured blood on Prime Minister Robert Muldoon's portrait, the carpet and desks and painted "guilty" on the wall. He was arrested and sent to Addington Prison, where he and three comrades staged a very well publicised hunger strike.

In 1987 he was spokesman for Christchurch Project Waitangi and in 1989 signed a Press advertisement opposing the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the treaty of Waitangi "Why We Oppose Celebrations In 1990"-sponsored by "Expose 1990"- Affiliated to "Non-Maori Opposed to Celebrations".

In the 80s, Marxists commonly used the slogan "The Treaty is a Fraud". Later they realised they they could get more mileage by getting government's to implement their new interpretation of the "Treaty". They then adopted the familiar slogan "Honour the Treaty" This is why Consedine could quite happily oppose the Treaty in 1989 and work for its "honouring" in his seminars in 2005.

In September 1993, Consedine spoke on "Tactics for Socialist Activists" at a "Political Cafe" run in Christchurch, by the Revolutionary Communist League's "Centre for Socialist Education". In 2005, the 100% Irish, Consedine, was number 6 on the Maori Party list.

Cuban Addresses Indigenous Education Conference

Between 27th November and 2nd December, Hamilton will host over 3000 indigenous educators, researchers and students for the 7th World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education.

Hosted by Te Wananga o Aotearoa the conference will open with a speech by Cuban Education Minister, Luis Gomez Gutierrez.
The wananga has links with Cuba which came under scrutiny last year. Then ACT MP, Ken Shirley claimed in Parliament that the wananga had enrolled students and staff in a Cuban literacy and numeracy course to get more money from the Government.

A focus of the conference will be government recognition of indigenous peoples worldwide through international documents such as the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples currently awaiting finalization by states at the United Nations.

Other key speakers include:
LaDonna: Harris. Described in 1972, by her husband US Democratic Senator, Fred Harris as a "militant woman and an activist member of the Comanche Indian Tribe."
In 1980 she was a vice presidential candidate for the "Citizen's Party" which was founded in 1979 by "a coalition of left-wing groups" She was a founding member of leftist organisations, Common Cause, National Urban Coalition and National Women's Political Caucus. During her career, she has served on the boards of National Organization of Women, the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing, National Institute for Women of Color and Pax World Foundation. She represented the US at UNESCO under Prsident Carter.

Moana Jackson: Founder of the Maori Law Centre, Jackson has worked extensively overseas on international indigenous issues, particularly the drafting of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He was a judge on the International Tribunal of Indigenous Rights in Hawaii in 1993 and again in Canada in 1995.
In 2001 he was a sponsor of the Christchurch based "Arena" an organisation largely consisting of current or former Maoists. Earlier this year he was one of the main speakers at the funeral of Socialist Party of Aotearoa leader, Bill Andersen.

Mick Dodson: Convenor,ANU Institute for Indigenous Australia. Dodson was Australia's first Aboriginal social justice commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. In 1993 he was the Co-Deputy Chair of the Technical Committee for the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People. He is also chairman of the UN Advisory Group for the Voluntary Fund for the Decade of Indigenous Peoples. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the UN Indigenous Voluntary Fund. Dodson caused controversy in Australia this September after publicly opposing a scheme whereby Aboriginals living on communal land could own their own private homes. It was revealed his own home in Canberra was worth between $475,000 and $500,000.

Just Belt the Little Bastards

Political Correctness lunacy from yestrday's Newstalk ZB "Teachers are being ticked off for dishing out lines to teach students a lesson. The Education Review Office has pulled up a west Auckland school for making students write lines for bad behaviour.

In its latest report the ERO has suggested Westbridge Residential School revisit its use of writing as a disincentive. After completing a standard review of the school it found students sent to time out were required to copy out a sheet of writing.
The intention is to help them reflect on their experience.

However the Education Review Office suggests this could lead students to regard writing as a form of punishment."

Words of Wisdom from a Socialist

"If National was intelligent, it would recognise that by fostering the growth of smaller parties to the right and left of it, it could conceivably be the government and the right could dominate parliament for a considerable period."

Alliance Party activist Quentin Findlay "Red & Green" No 1, 2003 p 89

Words of Wisdom from Brian Nicolle

Rodney Hide's former right hand man, Brian Nicolle wrote a very interesting piece in Saturday's Dominion Post."Contrary to popular opinion, a Holyoakean Helen Clark is well positioned for a fourth term as prime minister", begins Brian.

Brian's thesis is that Helen Clark will steer a very steady course, abandoning any thought of radical social legislation. "Expect some tax cuts to take the wind out of the opposition sails, and the implementation of some of National's more centrist policies dressed up in Labour garb before the next polling day comes along."

Brian's main messages are for National and ACT:
"National has never understood the need for a centre-right strategy of some kind, or the need to reach out to potential partners to develop some common ground before the vote is counted." In contrast, Helen Clark "has made it her business to become an expert in MMP, and in working across the spectrum with other political parties in order to achieve her political ends."

"The only alternative to the current government is a strategy led by National, as the largest opposition party, for a centre-right plan that will target the urban Auckland vote in particular and provide a meaningful alternative for the large pockets of voters who, on balance and after careful consideration, just couldn't bring themselves to support National at the last election."

This could be a role for a revamped and streamlined ACT Party, positioning itself ... to focus on the urban vote. Such a tack would require ACT to work equally with Labour as well as National – a sensible move, given that it appears that when a minor party works with only one of the major parties, it simply gets taken for granted."

Much as I feel visceral revulsion at anything connected with Labour, I think Brian is probably right. If ACT is seen as "hard, uncaring right" National will never dare align with us for fear of alienating the middle vote. ACT has to reach people that National can't, the urban liberal voter, the idealistic students, the people with a "social conscience" who are smart enough to know state socialism helps no-one. We have to sell the benefits of our liberal message to some of the "soft left" and the centre. What do you think?

Socialists Push Racist Agenda

One person to welcome UN "rapporteur" Rodolfo Stavenhagen's UN report is Race Relations Commissioner, Joris De Bres.
De Bres says he is "hoping that when the final report comes out next year it will apply some of the knowledge available internationally to see how we can take these problems forward."
He adds "we should value the opinions and not be afraid of them because they come from overseas, and the issue now is what we should do about these problems."

It is not surprising that De Bres supports Rodolf the Red's report, because our beloved race commissar also has a Marxist background.

According to a booklet on unionism De Bres penned a few years back: (at Auckland University in the '60s) "I took part in protests against the Vietnam War, the SIS, the nuclear arms race and nuclear power, racism and Apartheid."

In 1969 de Bres studied at the Free University of West Berlin, "I studied Marx, Engels and Lenin, Marcuse, Rosa Luxemburg, Frantz Fanon, and modern German writers of the revolutionary left. Students saw their hope for revolutionary change in an alliance with the working classes, through radicalised trade unions. They had nearly pulled it off in Paris in 1968."

In February 1972 de Bres attended the “World Assembly for Peace and Independence of the Indo Chinese People” held in Paris. representing the Wellington Committee On Vietnam. The Conference was organised by the Soviet Front, World Peace Council. While New Zealand troops were fighting in Vietnam, Joris de Bres presented a letter of solidarity to Quong Ming, ambassador to France of the provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam (that is the communist goverment in waiting).

Back in NZ De Bres was active for many years in a wide range of socialist causes: the Citizen's Association for Racial Equality", the Maoist publication "The Paper", CORSO, NZUSA, PSA, OXFAM etc etc etc. When it came to choosing someone to advance racial harmony in NZ, the Labour government had an ideal man in Joris De Bres.

Sheriff Locks up Paedophile-Locke Petitions Parliament

Congratulations to Christchurch City councillor, Gail Sheriff for standing up for her constituents. Ms Sheriff was invited to a meeting of Britannia St residents concerned at the looming parole of child rapist Colin Davies, to a house in their neighborhood. Sheriff calmed the meeting and phoned the property manger of the house where Davies was to stay. The tenant (Davies' sister)was then threatened with eviction if Davies were to move in.

According to this mornings Press, Davies was subsequently denied parole because of "the lack of a suitable place for him to live".

But all is not lost for the child rapist cause. Davies' sister met yesterday with Green Party MP Keith Locke to "draft a letter to Parliament calling for more support to be made available to the families of sex offenders".

Rodolf the Red Racial Rappoteur, Rebuked

Mexican Marxist and United Nations "rapporteur" Rodolfo Stavenhagen has been rebuked by National's Maori Affair spokesman, Gerry Brownlee. Commenting on Red Rodolfo's critical statement on "indigenous rights" in NZ, Brownlee said "NZers don't need to be told by the UN what it means to be a Kiwi". "Fair-minded Kiwis will reject these statements outright because they know them to be untrue".

After a 9 day visit to maori groups around the country, Red Rodolf issued a statement claiming that Maori problems like over representation in crime statistics and lower life expectancies "were considered by Maori as the result of a transgenerational backlog of broken promises, economic marginalistion, social exclusion and cultural discrimation".

Marxist sociology professors, Maori radicals and UN bureacrats think that way. Most NZers do not. Marxists love to divide nations along racial lines. They even have a term for it. It is called "National Question" politics.

So well done Gerry Brownlee and all those other MPs who told Red Redolf what to do with his report.

Marxist Matt McCarten

Here's Matt McCarten writing in the Australian paper, Green Left Weekly, in November 1992. He was marking the death of his friend, Democratic Socialist Party leader Jim Percy

"I valued my friendship and political collaboration with Jim. He gave me the theoretical base for my political work. I owe so much to him. The impact Jim had on me over the last few years was enormous. Jim was one of the few left leaders who was able to bring Marxism-Leninism alive into todays world. He made socialism relevant to those of us who seek a new society based on social justice. His socialism was inclusive, warm and exciting. He was the major political influence in my life."

Matt McCarten President, New Labour Party, Chairrman, Auckland Alliance, New Zealand

Keith Locke-A Wasted Life Part 3

In 1990 Keith Locke stood as NLP candidate for Mt Eden. He was openly backed by "Left Currents", the new name for a revamped Workers Communist League. He was also busy running "One World Books" -a "progressive" bookshop and HQ for several socialist organisations.

In 1991 Locke joined the editorial board of a new socialist magazine, "Agenda"
Fellow board members included two former WCL supporters, Leonie Morris and Bruce Cronin, two veterans of Philippines "exposure tours", Janet Cole and Susannah Downing and leading Information on Ireland activist and former SUP member Dean Parker.

In late 1991 the NLP merged with the Greens, Mana Motuhake and the Democrats to form the Alliance Party. This was clearly linked to events in Australia and further abroad. Both the group of ex SAL members who formed the NLP and the Workers Communist League had strong ties to the Australian Socialist Workers Party.
In 1990 the SWP changed it’s name to “Democratic Socialist Party” while it’s newspaper “Direct Action”, became “Green Left Weekly” This was part of a strategy to moderate it's image with the Australian public and other political groups.

The DSP was, and still is, very well connected to the international grouping of Trotskyite parties, the "4th International", many of the world's leading traditional communist parties and an array of Maoist groups, environmental and "social movements"
The aim,in several countries, was to unite these disparate groups into a third party to the left of the existing Labour or Social Democratic Party.

The SWP/DSP had long dreamed building such a "third force” in Australia. To this end the SWP had, in ‘87-’89, unsuccessfully attempted mergers with both the Communist Party of Australia and the Pro-Soviet Socialist Party of Australia.
According to Green Left Weekly, 18th of November 1992, “Jim (Percy, DSP leader), was the initiator...” of the party’s “analysis of the Australian Labor Party which has resulted in the Party seeking to build a third force in Australian politics similar to the New Zealand NLP”. The project stalled for a while when Jim Percy died of cancer in late 1992.

In November 1992, Locke and former SAL comrades, Paul Piesse, Petronella Townsend, Matt Robson and Lew Stribling wrote to GLW, offering condolences on the death of Percy. "We have known Jim since 1970. Since that time we have shared the same sociasupportedion and suported the same struggles against oppression. Through two decades we kept in contact with Jim and benefitted from sharing political ideas and experiences...Jim was with us in our early political development as members of the SAL in NZ. He was also alongside us when we formed the NLP. He contributed his political ideas and experience to the NLP in a comradely and supportive way. He saw the NLP as a progressive development which could revitalise socialism in NZ and have a positive effect in Australia...We cannot be with you at the funeral of our comrade. However it is a maori tradition to sing at a funeral. We therefore request that when the Internationale is sung that it be recognised that the voices of Jim's comrades in NZ have also been raised as a final tribute to a respected fighter of the people"

In 1994 the DSP launched an important new international magazine "Links"
According to an editorial in the first issue; “Links is a new international discussion magazine. It is a magazine for the post Cold War left... a magazine that is taking steps to unify and bring together the forces for socialism in the world today..."Links" hopes not only to bring together active socialists from different countries and different continents, but to unite socialists coming from different traditions-the tradition of the pro-Moscow communist parties, Trotskyite parties, Maoism, the left wing of national movements, left forces breaking with social democracy, and activists from social movements who have come to see the need for a party.”

Locke contributed an article on the Alliance Party to the first issue of "Links". He also represented the Alliance at the Easter 1994 "Links" planning and assessment meeting in Sydney, which was formally hosted by the DSP. Other delegates at this meeting came from the Brazilian Workers Party,(now in power in Brazil), the Italian Party of Communist Refoundation, the US Committees of Correspondence (a breakaway from the Communist Party USA), several Filipino Marxist organisations, the Sri Lankan Trotskyite Nava Sama Samaj Party, the Indonesian Peoples Committee, the Trotskyite Fourth International and the British Marxist group, Militant. Dr Nguyen Khac Kinh, deputy director of Vietnams National Environment Agency was also present. The main discussion was on broadening the distribution of LINKS to promote the "widest possible unity of Marxists from different political traditions".

"Links" continues today as a force in the international socialist movement. Its editorial board has included high ranking members of the South African Communist Party, the DSP, the Party of Democratic Socialism (the former East German Communist Party), the US Committees of Correspondence and Matt McCarten from the NZ Alliance Party. Contributing editors have come from the Cuban Communist Party, The Brazillian Workers Party, The Italian Refoundation Communist party, the Russian Party of Labour, the French Revolutionary Communist League and a whole host of third world and European Marxist-Leninist groups. US Marxist writer James Petras has also been prominent

Locke, Matt Robson and their Alliance colleague Matt McCarten stayed in contact with the DSP right through the 90's and beyond. At one stage Locke was Auckland correspondent for Green Left Weekly and wrote occasional articles for the paper till at least 1998, a year before entering parliament. To remove any lingering doubts on the nature of the DSP I quote former DSP parliamentary candidate, Susan Price in GLW of 26th April 1995; “DSP is a Marxist-Leninist party and we don’t think that is a bad thing”.

Crime and Punishment in Britannia Street

From this morning's Christchurch Press
Selau Ifopo-Sumner and Mandy Karatau-Keightley live in Brittania Street, Christchuch. Upon hearing a rumour that twice convicted child sex offender, Colin Davies, was to be paroled to their street, the two women took action. They distributed hundreds of pamphlets in 12 streets in the area, naming the address where Mr Davies would be living.

Since then, rocks have been thrown at the named house and also through the window of an elderly neighbour. It is now claimed by Mr Davies' sister (with whom he was to board) that he will not be staying with her because "her landlord had threatened to evict her if he did".

What's the morality of all this? In my view Selau Ifopo-Summer and Mandy Karatau-Keightley acted with good intention, though perhaps prematurely. The landlord (if his alleged threat has been accurately reported) has acted honorably.
Davies' sister merely wanted to help her brother.

The villains are:
1 The rock throwing idiots.
2 Davies who indecently assaulted two girls in the '80s and then more recently raped a 10 year old girl.
C A justice system that was apparently considering releasing Davies after four years of a seven year sentence and seemed to have no intention of warning his new neighbours.

There is a big issue here. Do convicts who have served their sentence have a "right" to privacy? My answer is no. A conviction is not designed just to punish an offender. Its purpose should also be to serve as a warning to all citizens on just what kind of behaviour the offender has a tendency to. It should be a permanent, readily accessible record for all to view.

I'm a believer in rehabilitation and forgiveness. But rehabilitation can only come if the offender either faces or is forced to face the evil and the consequences of his actions. Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Dostoyevsky's classic "Crime and Punishment" murdered two old ladies with an axe. It took him several years of hard labour before the evil of what he had done dawned on him and rehabilitation could even begin.

Forgiveness can only begin when an offender can be seen to face up to his actions and genuinely change his ways. Hiding convictions helps neither forgiveness or genuine rehabilitaion.

Colin Davies has damaged the lives of three young girls and their families. That damage may last a lifetime. We have a criminal justice system that treats people like Davies with kid gloves. It then dumps them on an unaware public, leaving our kids to bear the risk.

Until we have system that treats serious offenders firmly and puts the public's right to protect itself as top prority, good people will protect their families as best they can.

Noodle Smuggling Child Abusers.

My wife asked one of our our local creche workers yesterday if it was OK to send our little feller in with some 2 minute noodles for lunch rather than the usual "sammies".

There was some hesitation while the worker examined the packet. She explained that these would be OK because they were "98% fat free". Apparently some irresponsible parents were trying to smuggle high fat one minute noodles into their kiddies lunchboxes. Why weren't CYPS notified about this appalling child abuse I wonder?

Fast Food Power Grab?

Today's strike by a handful of Starbucks workers in Auckland is believed to the first in the Seattle based chain's history.

Organised by Matt McCarten's "Unite" union, a few Auckland workers will be downing pinnies and steam wands today in support of wage demands.

McCarten's Marxist controlled union has deliberately targeted low paid workers in largely non unionised areas such fast food outlets, service stations and movie theatres.

By June this year Unite had signed up significant numbers of members in targeted workplaces.

"1000 Auckland restaurant workers from McDonalds (500), KFC (300), Starbucks (90) and Pizza Hut (80) joined the new Unite campaign for decent pay and working conditions for restaurant workers. These workers along with the 300 Burger King workers and 35 Denny’s workers will be part of a push for collective employment agreements at job sites. Over the past month recruitment has tripled the numbers of workers involved in the campaign to 1300... Unite Website

Since falling out with the Alliance and then the Maori Party, McCarten has been working with the the Socialist Workers Organisation, The Socialist Party of Aotearoa and other Marxist groups to form a new "working class" political movement.

Unite's aggressive push to build membership and support in low paid industries, where the public has some sympathy with the workers pay levels, may go some way to aiding McCarten's ambitions.

Keith Locke-A Wasted Life Part 2

In 1977 Keith Locke was replaced as Socialist Action editor and began working in the SAL's national office. Around 1978 the SAL's "big brothers", the US Socialist Workers Party, ordered a "turn to industry". All over the world, university educated Trotskyites, took up jobs in factories and meatpacking plants to get "close to the workers". Locke shelved his PHd and went to work in the Gear Meatworks in Wellington, then later at the Woburn Railway Workshops.

During this period the SAL worked closely with the pro-Soviet, Socialist Unity Party and were clearly on the Soviet side of the Soviet/Chinese rivalry of the time.
On February 21st 1980 Locke gave a talk in Wellington "Why Workers Should Support Soviet Action in Afghanistan."

In March the same year he was elected Secretary at founding meeting of the Wellington Nicaragua Solidarity Committee, which oppossed US backed "aggression" against the Sandinistas. In the next couple of years he praised "peacenik" Owen Wilkes for exposing foreign bases in NZ, was active in the Latin America Committee and in the committee campaigning for an enquiry into the police "home invasion" and shooting of his workmate and Black Power associate, Paul Chase.
In October 1983 Locke signed a letter to US President Reagan protesting at the invasion of Grenada. Clearly some aggression was OK and some wasn't.

In 1985 Locke left the SAL, but certainly did not abandon socialist activity .In October 1986 he was a facilitator of a workshop with Owen Wilkes on the "Militarisation of Bases in Pacific" at the National Peace Workshops meetings in Auckland. Among the decisions reached at this workshop was; "Support a joint campaign against US bases in Australia, NZ and the Philippines".

By now Locke was National co-ordinator of the Philippines Solidarity Network. Founded in 1984, by Marxist priest John Curnow, PSN's role was to provide solidarity for the Maoist insurgency then seriously threatening the Philippines.
The PSN organised visits by Filipino communists to NZ, including one by party leader Jose Maria Sison and another by high ranking party member, Joy Balazao.
It also helped organise several "exposure tours" by NZ students and "peace activists", to the Philippines. These "tourists" fraternised with Communist Party front organisations and even worked in the field with units of the party's, New Peoples Army.

One 1988 tour, which included 4 PSN activists (2 of whom were Workers Communist League supporters) caused major controversy. The Philippines Army accused the delegation of involvement in a New Peoples Army ambush which killed 10 Armed Forces Philippines soldiers.

The PSN was run mainly members of the the Workers Communist League. The WCL had by then abandoned hard core Maoism and had adopted a more open policy towards working with other Marxist tendencies. Several Trotskyites began working on projects with the WCL. Locke was clearly one of them.

Locke kept his options open however and in November 1986 he wrote an article for the Socialist Unity Party's, "Tribune" on protest against US bases in NZ, Australia and the Philippines. In October the following year he attended a meeting in Auckland sponsored by the Soviet front, World Peace Council.

In January 1988, locke visited the Philippines during local elections. He was interviewed about the visit in the March 25th issue of the WCL's "Unity" newpaper."
In 1991 Locke left his leadership role with PSN, probably after visiting the Philippines for an International Peace Festival.

Locke was also an avid campaigner against NZ's military capability.
In 1989, he was national spokesman for "People Against the Frigates", which aimed to scuttle NZ's purchase of the ANZAC frigates. On May 11th 1990,the Christchuch Press reported that Locke claimed that the government's decision to buy 18 jet air trainers was "a total waste of $266 million," He also said NZ no longer needed a jet fighter squadron.

In 1989 Keith Locke got back into party politics. After bitter infighting in the Labour Party, Jim Anderton broke way to announce the formatiom of a "real Labour Party", the Newlabour Party. The entire WCL joined the new party as did a number of ex SUP, SAL and Communist Party members.

The NLPs first National Council contained no less than four ex SAL members (Matt Robson, Petronella Townsend, Keith Locke and Paul Piesse), a former SAL supporter, Francesca Holloway (now wife of political commentator Chris Trotter), WCL member Sue Bradford, 3 or 4 probable WCL members and one former covert SUP supporter.

In the late 80's "Information on Ireland" was NZ's leading support group for Irish Republicanism. IOI campaigned for the IRA, Sinn Fein and the even more extreme, Irish Republican Socialist Party . Membership ranged from old "Republicans" and university radicals, to senior members of the SUP, WCL and the Communist Party. The outlook of IOI can be gauged from an 1988 article in the Dominion Sunday Times. IOI and SUP member, Ana Meihana, told the paper, "The Irish cause is the Maori cause. The Maori fight in New Zealand is basically the same, only it is yet to reach a military stage like Ireland."

By July 1989, Locke was International Affairs spokesman for the NLP.
That August he wrote to IOI's paper "Saoirse" (Volume 6, Number 5)inviting suggestions from Saoirse readers for NLP foreign policy.

A Big Thankyou

I'd like to thank several people who have helped me enter the world of blogging.

Firstly Rodney Hide who's great Blog was the first I ever read. Rodney has been a real inspiration and has given me some great plugs.

Secondly, Andrew Falloon who showed me how to get up and running, has promoted my Blog and amused me no end with his entertaining nd informative writing style.

Thirdly, Aaron Bhatnagar, Graham Watson and Blair Mulholland, Peter Cresswell and David Farrar who have welcomed me and given me some great plugs. I'll be linking to your Blogs ASAP.

Fourthly, all those who have typed in comments and sent encouraging personal emails.

Fifthly, every one of those 500 or so people who have taken the the time to look up New Zeal.

I hope this Blog can live up to your expectations and play its small part in making our country the freest in the world.

Trevor Loudon

Who the Hell is Rodolfo Stavenhagen?

"A United Nations expert on racial discrimination has been told by the South Island's largest Maori tribe how the government breached its human rights with its seabed and foreshore legislation. Press 21.11.05"

Ngai Tahu is right, the Labour government did deny their rights when it legislated to stop maori taking their seabed and foreshore claims to court.

There are other issues here though. Important issues of national sovereignty. Why does the UN have any business meddling in New Zealand's internal affairs? Who is this so called expert sent here to "investigate" us?

Rodolfo Stavenhagen is a Mexican professor of sociology. Currently he is UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples.
Before that he was an External Research Co-ordinator at the UN Research Institute for Social Development for the Project on Ethnic Conflict and Development.

After gaining a doctorate in sociology at the University of Paris in 1965, Dr Stavenhagen held senior posts in the Mexican Ministry of Education, the International Labour Organisation and from 1979-82 was a subdirector at UNESCO. This was around the time US President Ronald Reagan withdrew funding to the organisation for its alleged socialist and third world bias.

What are Dr Stavenhagen's politics? In 2001 he contributed to a book
"Development in Theory and Practice: Latin American Perspectives"
This book focuses on marxism and socialist trends in the world's most revolutionary continent. Contributors include well known marxists such as James Petras and George Novack.

Chapter titles include:
"Theories of Development: Imperialism, Dependency, or Globalization?", "Capitalism and Imperialism in Latin America: Historical Considerations",
"Dependence Is Dead, Long Live Dependence and the Class Struggle", "Issues of Theory in Dependency and Marxism", "Post-Marxism: The Retreat from Class in Latin America",
"Marx and the Concept of Dependency","Capitalist and Socialist Development: Mainstream and Alternative Theory and Practice", "Dependency, Modes of Production, and the Class Analysis of Latin America","Capitalist Accumulation and the Marginal Mass Thesis", "The Transition to Socialism in Latin America", "The Weakness of the Bourgeoisie in the National Revolution", "The Future of Democracy in Cuba","State, Class, and Transition in Nicaragua", "Revolution, Counterrevolution, and Imperialism"

Rodolfo Stavenhagen's contribution is entitled "Between Underdevelopment and Revolution". Would anyone like me to order them a copy?

Dr Stavenhagen's job is to visit ethnically troubled areas and report back to the UN. I quote a recent issue of Canadian marxist magazine "The New Socialist"

"The long simmering dispute between the indigenous Secwepemc people of British Columbia’s (BC) southern interior and the Sun Peaks mega ski resort development northeast of Kamloops boiled over in August and September 2004."

"Direct action at the site, which successfully shone a spotlight on injustice, is over. But the campaign to win Aboriginal rights is proceeding, including legal defence battles against current charges and to force both governments and corporations to comply with Aboriginal title. This campaign has involved work on fundraising as well as a focus on building the growing solidarity movement."

"The Protection Centre has relied on both its own direct action and on building a wider network of alliances and support. They have worked with groups such as the Indigenous Network on Economics and Trade (INET) and drawn international attention to their situation. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, UN Special Raporteur for Human Rights, recently visited the center as a guest."

The cause has won considerable support in the Canadian state, ranging from the Native Youth Movement to the radical activist left to well beyond. After visiting the area and experiencing the destruction first hand, author Naomi Klein wrote:
“Let’s be clear, this is not about a ski hill... British Columbia’s First Nations peoples have already been robbed of so much. It is the duty of all Canadians living on stolen land to join the struggle to defend what is left.”
Does any of this sound familiar?

Do we need some Mexican marxist snitch telling tales to the UN? Does NZ need that bastion of corruption, socialism and third world thuggery, the UN to tell us how to treat our own people? Why does our media give this glorified meter maid and his gang any credence at all?

Michael Cullen Award

This week's, Michael Cullen Award for Pseudo-Intellectual Blather, goes to Waikato University legal academic, Claire Breen. Writing in today's Sunday Star/Times Ms Breen wowed the judges with this truly exquisite piece of bullshit.

"Labelling anyone who believes in a "socially just" society as socialists as Lindsay Mitchell did (November 13th) will be seen by some as flattering, by others as a misrepresentation, depending on one's understanding of ideologies.

With more than 30 varieties of socialism in practice, from the extreme and now defunct totalitarian state-capitalism of Russia, to the benign social-democracy of NZ's left leaning political parties-which incidentally, prefer a mixed economy of private and public than ACT's extreme of private only-where does Michell stand?

Mitchell stands closer to Marx than he would care to admit.

Marx wrote in his "Manifesto" that the unemployed were to be regarded as social scum. "that passively rotting mass thrown off by the layers of old society".
(Reminiscent perhaps) of an ACT attitude reflected in their ravings against the dispossessed of the Rogernomic-economic revolution.

I doubt if we will be hearing words like "elimination" and "gulags" from ACT, but "Comrade Rodney Hide" has a certain deliriously ironic ring to it as he and his party, appear to share Comrade Karl's beliefs towards the unemployed or any other group in need of social justice."

Don't laugh, this person might be marking your son or daughter's exam papers one day.

Keith Locke-A Wasted Life Part 1

Keith Locke was born in Christchurch in 1944. A "red nappy baby" his parents were well known Communist Party members, Jack and Elsie Locke.
Elsie Locke, one of the few women to serve on the party's central committee left the CP in 1956. She become a leader of the "peace" movement and a socialist icon. Jack Locke stuck with the CP or its offshoot the Socialist Workers Organisation until his death in 1996. Keith's sister, Maire Leadbetter is a leading light in the Auckland socialist scene today.

Keith Locke began a Bsc in Sociolology at canterbury University in 1962 and quickly became a leading light in the "New Left Club" Also active in the club were people such as the late socialist "intellectual" Bruce Jesson, radical Trotskyite, Owen Gager, current Alliance Party co-leader Paul Piesse and serving Finance Minister, Michael Cullen.

From 1966-68 Locke studied in Edmonton, Canada and achieved an MA in Sociology. There he became involved with the League for Socialist action, a Trotskite Group affililiated to the US Socialist Workers Party. In 1969 while a PhD student in sociology at the University of Toronto, Locke became chairman of "Australians and New Zealanders Against the War in Vietnam" . He was one of 25 members who attended a demo of 10,000 against the war in Toronto. He was also with a group who drove to Ottawa to picket Australian PM Gorton who was in town for talks with PM Trudeau. Locke wrote to NZ Monthly review in June 1969 "Many tendencies on the left were present: pacifists, Trotskyists, communists, anarchists and liberals . Most of the Communist and pacifist forces no longer dispute that the central aim of the anti-war movement should be the immediate withdrawal of US troops."

That same year, back in New Zealand, our own Trotskyite group, the Socialist Action League was founded in Wellington.
By 1970, Locke was an SAL member and was writing for its paper, Socialist Action. In August 1970 he addressed Wellington Radical Activists Congress, arguing for Trotskyism at the session "Maoism or Trotskyism, which way for the revolution in New Zealand?"

In the early 70s the SAL tried to infiltrate the Labour Party.
From 1970-74, Locke was a financial member of Labour Party's Farm Rd Branch.
In 1972 the SAL launched a "Socialists for Labour" campaign, "to build support for a Labour Government in 1972 around a socialist programme . . . it expects to attract many young people into a national network of Young Socialists for a Labour Government groups." Locke was simultaneously chairman of "Socialists for Labour" and National Secretary of the SAL. On May 25th of that year,the National Executive of the Labour Party announced proscription of the SAL. It issued a statement "structure and affiliation of the SAL is such that it offends against the constitution of the NZLP . . . it is not possible to belong to both the NZLP and the SAL." Locke issued a counter statement "Is it not a publicly-acknowledged fact that the SAL is an organisation of Labour Party members which explicitly supports the Party and organises socialists for this purpose?" Labour unsuccessfully tried to expel Locke in 1974.

Meanwhile Locke was busy fighting many enemies. In 1971 he was a member of the National Laison Committtee which organised nationwide anti Vietnam War demos. In the December 8th 1972, Socialist Action, Locke complained that Mike Law of HART (now an academic at Waikato University) assaulted him in central Wellington "following months of intense political debate within the antiwar and antitour movements". This was probably part of the "Maoist vs Trot" conflict raging in New Zealand socialist circles at the time. Maoism vs Trotskyism was the framework for an August 1975 debate between Locke and Rob Campbell at Victoria University "Foreign or Local Ownership: is NZ Nationalism Progressive?" Apparently even the CIA was after Keith Locke. In February 1976 Socialist Action reprinted CIA documents on SAL members George Fyson, Keith Locke and Terry Lane, obtained for the SAL under a court order by US friends, the "Political Rights Defence Fund".

From the early '70s to 1977, Locke edited Socialist Action. In this job he made a blunder that haunts him to this day.
In April 1975 Locke wrote a lead article for Socialist Action under the banner heading: "Cambodia Liberated: Victory For Humanity" The "liberators" were of course the Khmer Rouge led by the infamous Pol Pot. More than million Cambodians were murdered under the Khmer Rouge. I wonder how many New Zealand Cambodians vote Green today?

In 1976 Locke made another faux pas. In a March 26th article for Socialist Action he wrote "Open Door to Warships Raises Nuclear Risks". The risky ships were of course American. A short time later (July 23rd) a P Neary wrote a letter to Socialist Action, opposing nuclear weapons and supporting fusion power. Keith Locke's reply "Capitalism cannot be trusted with nuclear power. . . socialism . . . would step up nuclear power research in order to make it safe"

Well Done, That Man!

In this morning's Christchuch Press comes a cheering tale. A Swiss motorist, flashed by a speed camera attacked the the offending machine with a pickaxe, ran over it, drove what was left up a mountain and threw it off a cliff. Unfortunately he was arrested. Hopefully he will plead sanity.

Paying a Price for Principle

Congratulations to Dunedin family doctor, Astrid Windfuhr. Like Nelson doctor Joseph Hassan, Dr Windfuhr has stopped prescribing the contraceptive pill and referring patients for sterilisation because it conflicts with her Catholic faith.

Acording to this morning's Christchurch Press, doctor Windfuhr stood to lose money from bulk funding each time one of her patients saw another doctor.
"I have no idea what it will cost. I may lose some money, but I can live with myself"

While I share neither doctor Windfuhr's faith, or her aversion to contraception, I admire her integrity. All serious freedom fighters know that liberty has a price. We should give credit to all who are willing to pay a price for their principles.

Watermelon Party Defers Co-leadership

The Green Party has deferred choosing a new co-leader until its June annual meeting. Under the party's constitution the job must go to a male.

Like a watermelon, the party is green on the outside and red in the middle. The Greens have always been at pains however, to emphasise their green rhind and camouflage their red heart.

The three most likely co-leadership contenders are;

Keith Locke MP Marxist-Leninist background.
Nandor Tanczos MP Anarchist backgound
Russell Norman No 10 on party list. Marxist-Leninist links

The Watermelon Party has a big PR problem on its hands.

Canute Cullen

Finance Minister, Michael Cullen stands like King Canute neck deep in the tidal surge for tax cuts. Every party in parliament save Labour campaigned for some tax relief. The Inland Revenue Department wants to cut tax rates, to reduce tax avoidance and remain competitive with Australia. Mr Canute's own Treasury Department is now urging cuts in the personal and company tax rates to encourage growth. Mr Canute dismissed the briefing as the usual "ideological burp" from Treasury every three years. He remained largely unconvinced tax cuts would change the growth rate.

Every high school economics student knows that if you decrease the cost of an activity, you get more of that activity. If you decrease the the cost of doing business you get more business and in the long term, more tax revenue. Mr Canute is an intelligent man. Intelligent enough to comprehend basic economics. Maybe we should face the possibility that to Mr Canute personal power is more important than this nation's economic wellbeing.

Socialism Kills Babies

In an excellent piece in the November 11th NBR, "Birthing disasters are the 'tip of the iceberg'" Masterton based GP/Obstetrician Tim Bailey Gibson explains how government meddling has seriously damaged obstetric care in this country. According to Dr Gibson a once happy and productive relationship between GPs and midwives mean't that pregnant women and their babies received the best of both worlds. Midwives handled the "minute by minute business of labour" while GPs "handled forceps and vacuum deliveries of babies and managed complex cases"

A government decision to pay only a lump sum per delivery meant there was only enough money for one caregiver per birth. Predictictably over 2,000 GPs quit obstetrics in 3 years, leaving the field almost entirely to midwives. Now only 30 GPs nationwide practice obstetrics. Dr Gibson made the point that 3 of these are in his area, the Wairarapa. This is because "8 years ago 2 of the doctors working as GP/Obstetricians approached the Wairarapa Area Health Board and arranged for an alternative and improved payment system".

According to Dr Gibson "midwife training is polytech based and can be done with no nursing background. It is based on a low intervention model, allowing the recent cases-the tip of the iceberg-to reach the coroners court."
Further "Obstetricians regularly are called in much too late to deal with crises, which if recognised earlier, would have turned into humdrum, normal outcomes for mother and baby".

So our socialist health model, with it's rationing of resources is killing babies. Why not allow the market to set remuneration and allow doctors, midwives and families to work out their own mutually beneficial arrangements. Why allow babies to die, families to grieve and taxpayers to haemorrhage simply to keep health bureaucrats in "make work" jobs and socialist politicians
egos intact?

Liars and Hypocrites

Observed on "Campbell Live" tonight. Green Party MP Keith Locke roundly condemning US military action in Afghanistan and urging our government to send no more Kiwi troops

From the In February 1980 issue of "Socialist Action" (which Mr Locke edited) an article on a talk Mr Locke gave Wellington "Why workers should support Soviet Action in Afghanistan."

From the Green Party's "Frog Blog" 2/6/05
Anyone who knows anything about New Zealand left-wing politics knows that the Socialist Action League, of which Keith was a member up until the mid-80s, was a Trotskyist group, and attacked all the Stalinist regimes, in Peking, Moscow and all of Eastern Europe, arguing for multi-party democracy.)

Two observations
1 Keith Locke is a hypocrite
2 Frog Blog is either misinformed or lying. The SAL heavily backed Soviet policy in the early '80s and often worked with the openly pro Soviet, Socialist Unity Party. The SAL did not support "multi party democracy" but did back a succession of one party dictators including Castro and Ortega.