Aotearoa New Zealand

A week after the Christchurch mosque attacks, thousands of people mobilised in Auckland for the 鈥淟ove Aotearoa, hate racism鈥 rally on March 24.

Racists and bigots believe that diverse societies don鈥檛 work. Frustrated that their howling at the moon wasn鈥檛 enough, they鈥檙e now picking up weapons in an attempt to prove themselves right.

New Zealand solidarity activist Maire Leadbeater鈥檚 new book, See No Evil: New Zealand鈥檚 betrayal of the people of West Papua, features a theme also relevant for Australia.聽Both countries were involved in the tragic betrayal of West Papua.

The filmmaker Taika Waititi聽said racism is very pronounced in New Zealand, explaining he faced blatant discrimination as a Te Wh膩nau-膩-Apanui youth.

In a recent interview,聽"Thor: Ragnarok"聽director and sometimes actor聽says his native聽New Zealand聽is聽鈥渞acist as fuck.鈥

"People just flat-out聽refuse to pronounce Maori names properly. There鈥檚 still聽profiling聽when it comes to Polynesians. It鈥檚 not even a colour thing 鈥 like, 鈥極h, there鈥檚 a black person.鈥 It鈥檚, 鈥業f you鈥檙e Poly then you鈥檙e getting profiled.鈥欌

With the release of the full text of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on February 21, activists in the 11 signatory countries finally got to see if their worst fears of a corporate power grab would be confirmed.

Unfortunately, they mostly were.

Protester with 'Boycott Israel' sign.

In the face of a campaign by supports of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel in protest against its apartheid policies, New Zealand superstar singer Lorde cancelled a planned Tel Aviv concert in December.聽

The Labour-led coalition government in New Zealand was formed in October after the welcome usurping of nine years of rule by the neoliberal National Party.

However, Labour was only able to form government with the help of two minor players 鈥 the populist, anti-immigration New Zealand First and the Greens. 聽

New Zealand Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, who says capitalism has been a 鈥渂latant failure鈥, became the country鈥檚 new, and youngest ever, prime minister on October 19.

Asked a few days after becoming PM if capitalism had failed New Zealanders, 37-year-old Ardern responded: 鈥淚f you have hundreds of thousands of children living in homes without enough to survive, that鈥檚 a blatant failure. What else could you describe it as?鈥

Hit and Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan & the Meaning of Honour
By Nicky Hager & Jon Stephenson
Potton &聽Burton, 2017聽
159 pages

In this well-written and powerful book, Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson present a barrage of evidence that 鈥淣ew Zealanders and their United States allies were involved in war crimes鈥 in Afghanistan in 2010.

KFC, Pizza Hut, Carls Jr and Starbucks workers wenton strike across new Zealand on April 22聽after negotiations broke down over a new collective agreement.

鈥淵esterday Restaurant Brands announced 聽profits of $26 million and they have paid their CEO a million dollar bonus. Tomorrow the workers who actually make and sell their products have to go on strike to get a few cents above the minimum wage鈥 said Unite National Secretary Gerard Hehir said on April 21.聽

Unions representing care and support workers are pleased to be jointly announcing with government a proposed equal pay settlement to 55,000 workers across the aged residential, disability and home support sectors.

The proposed settlement is a huge win and will make a real difference in valuing the work of care and support workers and the people they support, workers in the sector say. It is a significant step in addressing gender inequality in New Zealand.

English Eurovision act Buck Fizz

I often hear that music and politics should remain separate. I snigger at such a concept; as if they have ever been separate.

Those proponents may as well take the next logical turn and suggest that drugs and pop have never taken the same fork in the road.

Without some form of statement, music would have become as relevant as the novella, or Spanish mime.

Every turn in society has been reflected in the music of the day, from medieval folk to early jazz and blues, to punk and beyond. In some societies, it is one of the few ways of telling how brutal life is.