Ihumātao is a place that most people had not heard of until recently due to the escalation in protests on this land. At present there are approximately 1,500 people on the site, which has been cordoned off by the police.

Why is this protest being undertaken?

Just before dawn on 30 April, the Venezuelan opposition launched yet another attempt at a military coup. By the end of the day, the botched coup attempt seemed to have failed, with one of its leaders seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy, 25 of the soldiers involved requesting asylum at the Brazilian embassy and Juan Guaidó in hiding or on the run.

Strike action was taken by over 50,000 teachers throughout New Zealand on 29 May to demand a 16 percent pay increase and improved working conditions. Their strike is the result of a breakdown in pay talks between the New Zealand Educational Institute, the Post-Primary Teachers Association; and the government Ministry of Education.

With the increase in strikes in New Zealand we republish this article on the State by the late Phil Mitchinson.

Standing between the working class and the socialist transformation of society is a colossal state machine. Where did it come from? What purpose does it serve? can it be reformed, or must it be done away with altogether? What should replace it, indeed should it be replaced at all? In the first place what is "it"?

In their writings on the state, Marx and Engels set themselves the task of demystifying it, of conquering the idea that the state is some kind of eternal being, in order to strip away the magical shroud in which capitalism has cloaked it.

The maintenance workers responsible for safety checks on Auckland Transport passenger trains have been locked out for thirty days, from the 13 May, following industrial action. The dispute came about because of the difference in pay between the workers - contracted by spanish multinational CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliares de Ferrocarriles) - and Kiwirail workers. The technicians receive about $7000pa less than Kiwirail workers doing the same job.

2019 Australian Federal General Election Results

Majority 76 Seats required

Projected totals 19/05/19

The Liberal / National Coalition, after being behind in the polls for  years, have won the general election. At the time of writing the Federal Parliament is hung with the Coalition being three short of a majority, on 73 seats, and Labor on 65 seat, with 7 seats too close to call. There is a strong possibility of the Coalition returning to the government benches with a small majority and not having to rely on the cross benches to get through their legislation.

All religions have their fundamentalists; there are Christian fundamentalists, Hindu fundamentalists, Jewish fundamentalists, Buddhist fundamentalists and so on. They all play a reactionary role, and they are all growing in number. All of them believe they are the holders of the absolute truth, while all others are heretics or even the work of the devil himself. They are all used to sow division among toiling people around the world. The phenomenon affects all countries to one degree or another.

(Article reprinted from Socialist Appeal newspaper Autumn 2019.  To buy a copy send us an email for further details)

With the Labour Party riding high in the polls at approximately 45%, and the National Party leadership in meltdown and beginning to fall in the polls, Labour voters have (quite rightly) high expectations of the Labour Party to deliver. Jacinda Ardern has said that the second year of the Labour-led coalition government will be about delivery and made vague platitudes about this in the media.