GPJA 496 (1 of 2): National mobilisation against TPPA – March 29
March 25, 2014 Leave a comment
GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER No. 496, March 25, 2014
WHAT’S ON IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND
Israeli Apartheid Week
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an annual international series of events held in cities and campuses across the globe. The aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement.
There are events planned in university campuses in Auckland, Hamilton, and Wellington. More events are being confirmed so make sure you check our website for updates.
Auckland:
Wednesday 26 March 7pm | Film screening: Omar, Alleluya Cafe, St Kevin’s Arcade, Karangahape Rd.
Thursday 27 March 6.30pm | Panel of Speakers, Auckland University Engineering Faculty, Room 403–401 : Nadia Abu-Shanab, Marama Davidson, John Minto.
Friday 28 March 8pm | Live music and poetry night, Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Rd. With Imagine This, Tigilau Ness, Future Theft, Volita Bioletti, and more.
Wellington:
Wednesday 26 March 4pm | Craftivism workshop, venue to be confirmed.
Thursday 27 March 7pm | Film screening: 5 Broken Cameras, Victoria University, Kelburn Parade, Student Union Building room 217.
Friday 28 March 1pm | Students for Justice in Palestine welcome meeting, Victoria University, Kelburn Parade, Student Union Building room 219.
Hamilton
Wednesday 26 March 10am–2pm | Students for Justice in the Middle East stall, venue TBC
Friday 28 March 1pm | Open meeting: come learn about Israeli occupation of Palestine, venue TBC
For updates and venue locations check the Waikato Students for Justice in the Middle East facebook page.
Tuesday, March 25, 6pm, Cityside Church, Newton Auckland
Child Poverty Youth Forum: Interested in child poverty and want to make a real difference? Got an idea of how to help end child poverty? Want to support Child Poverty Action Group but not sure how? You may be interested in joining the CPAG’s youth forum. This is a bunch of youth (15-35 years), who develop and run projects which will help raise awareness of child poverty in Aotearoa and eradicate it! This could mean anything from fundraising to speaking in schools, or better yet, developing your own idea and implementing it with the support of one of New Zealand’s leading advocates against child poverty! How will it work? On Tuesday 25 March at 6pm anyone who is interested is invited to come along to Cityside Church, Newton Auckland. There we will meet CPAG board members who will tell us about CPAG and their strategy for this election year. We will then discuss what things we (that’s us youth!) can do to support them. Bring your creativity and critical thinking! This year is election year and poverty is a hot topic! What will you do to ensure more New Zealanders and politicians make decisions which end child poverty? There’ll also be food and drink afterwards so please let us know if you’re coming. We look forward to seeing you there. RSVP Here
Wednesday March 26, 7pm , Alleluya Cafe, St Kevin’s Arcade, K Rd.
Film screening: Academy Award Winning “Omar”. Part of Israeli Apartheid week.
Wednesday, March 26, 7pm, Kelston Community Centre.
Picket Paula Bennett’s public meeting. We as Waitemata Unite will hold a demonstration on welfare reforms and welfare stand down periods. The agenda of the public meeting is unknown at this stage but will inform as soon as we find out. Bring placards, flags,banners, etc to the demonstration and spread the message.
Thursday, March 27, 6.30pm at Auckland University Engineering Faculty, Room 403-401
Israeli Apaprtheid week Panel of Speakers – John Minto, Marama Davidson, Nadia Abu-Shanab.
Thursday, March 27, 6pm, 10 Grafton Road, Business School, Owen Glenn Building, University of Auckland. Parking available under the OGB building
Book Launch – The Mighty Totara: The Life and Times of Norman Kirk
The Fabian Society, in conjunction with Random House and UBS, invites you to the launch of David Grant’s book.
‘The mighty totara has fallen’ – the death of Norman Kirk drew such a comment. The lament reflected what many New Zealanders felt about this big, commanding and loved leader.
One of our greatest Prime Ministers and humanitarians. A self-educated, rough diamond Norman Kirk could not only capture the hearts and minds of ordinary Kiwis but also woo other world leaders on the global stage?
Please join us to celebrate the new book, The Mighty Totara: The Life and Times of Norman Kirk, by David Grant.
David Grant examines Kirk’s political leadership; his successes, especially his stunning performances on the international stage, and also his later difficulties, as he became seriously ill and as the country’s economy was rocked by international oil shocks.
He gives us a compelling, warts-and-all portrait of a remarkable and charismatic man, a portrait of a New Zealand at the cusp of modernity, as young people and intellectuals pushed hard on abortion and homosexual law reform, and as the anti-apartheid, feminist and nuclear-free movements started to gain traction.
This account reminds us how lacking a vision and concern too many others leaders in New Zealand have been. Kirk was of a conservative generation yet he had an unfailing belief in our tiny Pacific coastal nation, and a determination that that we could punch above our weight and make a difference.
David Grant will speak of the research and ideas that formed the book. Several guests will comment on their memory of the Kirk era.
Venue: Lecture Theatre 4, Owen Glen Building, University of Auckland.
Copies of the book will be available for sale & autograph.
Friday, March 28, 8pm, Grey Lynn Community Centre.
Israeli Apartheid Week Live music and poetry night. With Imagine This, Tigilau Ness, Future Theft, Volita Bioletti, and more.
National Day of Action on 29 March to Commemorate 4 years of TPPA negotiations and demand they pull the plug.
Towns and cities across the country, from Whangarei to Invercargill, are preparing to send an unmistakable message to the government this Saturday 29th – "we don’t want the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) because it is bad for our communities."
Some are worried about the price of medicines. Others about the impacts on local libraries. Tangata whenua are battling to uphold their Treaty rights against foreign mining companies. City councillors and unions fear that more local jobs may go and workshops close as government buys offshore.
But for many, it is simply a matter of democracy and sovereignty.
Marches, rallies and events are planned in some fifteen different communities, large and small, on Saturday.
Dr Benjamin Pittman, a retired educator and professional artist who spent 30 years in Australia and Hawaii, is organising the TPPA activities in Whangarei.
“I see the TPPA as an absolute affront and insult to the founding principles of partnership. The overt secrecy with which its planning has been conducted and its threat to democracy in Aotearoa galvanised me into action. Arrogant, ignorant, self-centred government is bad news!,” he said.
Palmerston North is preparing to play an active part the National Day of Action with a concert and rally in the Square starting at 1pm.
Rally organiser Sue Pugmire says: “There is a growing number of people who are very concerned about the TPPA in Palmerston North, and the more we find out about it, the more that concern grows”.
“We want answers. We’re tired of platitudes. This matter is above party politics. It is a matter for all New Zealanders. If the TPP is signed it will affect us all. It is about Democracy, and our right to determine our own future, as people and as a country. If signed, the TPP can override our NZ Laws including the Treaty of Waitangi. Those laws are there to protect us, our environment, and our families.”
Saturday’s action in Nelson follows a series of public meetings and protests over the past two years.
Last year more than 500 people of Nelson City & Tasman District signed a petition calling on their local councils to adopt the Peoples Resolution concerning the TPP agreement, along the lines of one that Auckland City adopted in 2012. In July 2013 both Councils adopted those resolutions, which were forwarded to the government.
‘This shows how local democracy can work in practice’, according to one of the Nelson organisers, Graeme O’Brien. ‘Local people took action to collect signatures, attend the debates and speak to their councils in the Public Forum to impress upon the councillors the level of concern in the local community about the secrecy of this agreement.’
Ends.
Regional contacts quoted above
Benjamin Pittman, Whangarei, 027 505 8705
Sue Pugmire, Palmerston North, 021 463 677
Graeme O’Brien, Nelson, 022-1942-516
National contact: Edward Miller, Its Our Future, 027 548 7004
Saturday, March 29, 11am, Queen Elizabeth Square, Auckland City
Living Wage 4 Learning March. Gather at Queen Elizabeth Square 11am. March up Queen Street 11.30am. Rally in Aotea Square 12-1pm. Every child deserves a chance in life, but more than one in four Kiwi kids live in poverty. That inequality is the biggest hurdle to educational success. The Government is putting millions into highly paid "new roles" for some principals and teachers, but ignoring child poverty. It has rejected a living wage for low paid support staff such as teacher aides, who directly support students with the greatest needs. If you agree that tackling inequality must be the #1 priority in New Zealand, and that there must be a Living Wage for Learning for kids and education workers, come and join us to show your support!
Download the event flyer to print and display
Call 0800 NZEI HELP (0800 693443) for more information.
Saturday, April 5, 5-7pm, Art Station, 1 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland
“I will die the way I lived” is an exhibition of 15 paintings by Antonio Guerrero, one of the Cuban Five, who is unjustly imprisoned in the United States. The opening event is on Saturday, April 5 from 5-7pm, at Artstation, 1 Ponsonby Road, central Auckland. The exhibition runs until April 24. The April 5 event will begin with Cuban food and mojitos. The Cuban ambassador, Maria del Carmen Herrera, will open the exhibit. There will be dance and music performances by Tupua Tigafua, Peter Leupolu, and Harry Jones and friends.
The Cuba Friendship Society in Auckland is organising this exhibition to build support for the international campaign to free the Cuban Five. Please come along and bring others. Attached is a leaflet that can be used to tell others about the opening event and exhibition. If you want to offer your assistance in any way, please reply to this email or phone Ina (09) 303-1755 or Malcolm 021-151-7887.
Wednesday, April 9, 4-7pm, 35 George St, Kingsland, Auckland
Living Wage Campaign Auckland network planning. It’s election year and we have a strategy to develop to put public pressure on politicians to make the Living Wage a reality. Join us at for our planning workshop.
Saturday, April 12, 11am-1pm, Westpac Newmarket, 298 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland
After 4 months of asking Westpac to stop financing climate change and the destruction of the Denniston Plateau – one of New Zealand’s most special places, Auckland Coal Action, Coal Action Network Aotearoa and 350.org are asking Westpac customers to join us and Make The Switch to another bank.
Come join us and close your Westpac account on Saturday. www.aucklandcoalaction.org
Tuesday, April 15th, 7pm, The Wine Cellar, St Kevin’s Arcade, Auckland
Boots Riley of The Coup! Tickets $25 pre-sale or $30 on the door. Doors 7pm
Boots will be doing a political discussion and q an a, followed by an acoustic performance. Since 1991, Boots Riley has been the dynamic lyricist behind hip hop group THE COUP, whose albums have been lauded by everyone from Rolling Stone to Village Voice, but most importantly, by the fans who have been inspired by the message and launched positive social change through such projects as The Young Comrades, and Guerilla Hip-Hop Concerts”. His collaborations have included the likes of Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Dead Prez, and E-40 and Spice-1.
http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/gig/38235/Boots-Riley.utr
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boots-Riley/109295882423679
April 25-27, Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT city campus, Auckland
Militarisation in the Pacific: Women, Peace and Security. A regional meeting convened by WILPF Aotearoa. The meeting will comprise two days of information sharing through panels, workshops and presentations, and one day of work on WILPF activity in the region. Women from around the Pacific will be coming to the meeting to share information about issues, such as foreign military bases, being under military occupation, the links between globalization and militarization. It will be a great opportunity to meet our sisters from around the region and learn firsthand about issues of peace and security in the Pacific.
The programme
Friday 25 April: 12 noon – a welcome followed by lunch. 2.00pm – an informal information sharing session for WILPF women to speak about the situation in their country. In the evening there will be a public screening of the documentary, Noho Hewa by film maker Anne Keala Kelly. The film is about the effects of militarization and historical and ongoing colonization on Kanaka Maoli, the indigenous people of Hawaii.
Saturday 26 April 9.00am – 5.00pm. There will be a mixture of workshops, plenary presentations and panel discussions.
Sunday 27 April will focus on WILPF business, in particular, the 100th birthday in 2015 and the possibility of the Asia-Pacific WILPF sections working together as a regional grouping within International WILPF.
For further detail go to www.wilpf.org.nz (The site is being regularly updated).
Registration now open via wilpfaotearoa
Sunday, April 27, 2-4pm, Thorndon School Hall,
Memorial Service. Part of the Workers Memorial Day events. We are having three events – the forestry memorial service on 27 April and the collection and procession to Parliament on 28 April to remember all workers killed at work. Plans are shaping up well for the three events to mark workers memorial day but we need some assistance from affiliates to ensure that these Wellington events are great for members from all unions.
Monday, April 28, 2 noon, Midland Park to Parliament
Workers Memorial Day procession
GPJA Special Forum: Monday 5th May 7.30pm at Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road Grey Lynn.
Guest Speaker Murray Horton from the Christchurch-based CAFCA (Campaign against Foreign Control of Aotearoa) and the ABC (Anti Bases Campaign) Murray will be speaking on: “Who’s running the show and in whose interests?” and focusing on:
- People’s Rights before Corporate Profit
- Public service, not private profit
- An independent foreign policy
- No unjust secret treaties
Murray’s GPJA forum is part of a nationwide tour. We don’t see him often in Auckland so we welcome everyone to what will be an entertaining, amusing and politically important presentation.
Friday, May 9, 4-6pm, Room WG808 (Level 8), Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT University
WHAT THE MEDIA DON’T TELL YOU: WHO’S RUNNING THE SHOW? AND IN WHOSE INTEREST? "We want an independent Aotearoa, based on policies of economic, military and political self-reliance, using Aotearoa’s resources for the benefit of the people of Aotearoa.
"This country needs people power to let the world know that Aotearoa is not for sale."
– Murray Horton, spokesperson for the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) and the Anti-Bases Campaign (ABC)
Murray will speak on:
- People’s rights before corporate profit
- Public service not private profit
- An independent foreign policy
- No unjust secret treaties
Saturday, May 10, 7.30pm, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington.
DREAMS LIE DEEPER – A CONCERT COMMEMORATING MINERS EVERYWHERE. The Orpheus Choir of Wellington, the city’s much-acclaimed symphonic choir, has programmed a major concert entitled Dreams Lie Deeper, as a tribute to miners the world over. It brings together three premières of choral music dedicated to miners, inspired by historical events that recall the tragedies, the struggles and also the rejoicing when rescue from a mining disaster was achieved. The theme of the evening will be dedicated to mining communities and a commemoration of events that have irrevocably changed the course of their lives.
The major work in the programme is the New Zealand première of 17 Days, by young UK composer James McCarthy. He was commissioned to compose a piece by Crouch End Festival Chorus, dedicated to the dramatic rescue of the Chilean miners in 2010. The work was premiered in the Barbican Theatre London in 2011 and received a standing ovation; a second performance last year was received with the same acclamation. It is a very moving expression of the tremendous emotion the whole world felt during those 17 days when the miners were underground and no word had yet been heard from them.
At our concert, the award-winning Wellington Brass Band and Wellington Young Voices, a recently established children’s choir in the city, join us in this very powerful presentation.
The second première is If Blood Be the Price, a work by New Zealand composer Ross Harris, inspired by the 1912 Waihi Miners’ Strike, and is set to a poem by NZ Poet Laureate Vincent O’Sullivan. The significance of the tragic consequence of the industrial action by those Waihi workers is indelibly written into mining history in this country, and the performance will be an evocative reminder of the working life of those who work under the ground.
The final focus of "Dreams Lie Deeper" will be on the tragedy that threw a whole community into turmoil and brought their plight into every New Zealand household overnight – the Pike River Mine disaster. The concert will showcase a new work by high profile and well-loved singer/songwriter, Dave Dobbyn, who has been commissioned to write both the lyrics and music for a tribute to the miners who lost their lives in the tragedy of 2011.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PART TIME UNITE UNION ORGANISERS WANTED IN AUCKLAND AND WELLINGTON
Unite Union is looking to employ two part time organisers. Both organisers will have a primary responsibility for visiting, recruiting and representing workers in the fast food industry, cinemas, hotels and security. Organisers need to have some experience as a union delegate, an advocate for workers and beneficiaries or organising experience in community movements. A knowledge of current industrial law would be an advantage. Applicants need to be computer literate. A current drivers licence is essential. The Auckland position is for 20 hours a week. The Wellington position is for 10 hours a week. Both positions are for a fixed term until September 30 when there will be a reorganisation of roles at Unite Union. Applications should be sent by email to Unite National Director Mike Treen (mike) by 5pm, Monday, March 31.
Mike Treen, National Director, Unite Union 09 8452132 / 029 5254744
CPAG: SAVE THE DATE: FRIDAY 16 MAY
Please save the date for CPAG’s annual post budget breakfasts on Friday, May 16. What will the 2014 budget hold for children? Join us for breakfast to hear our analysis of how the 2014 budget affects children and young people. We’re holding breakfasts in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with the possibility of extending events to Whangarei, Hamilton and Dunedin! Watch out for more details soon. http://tinyurl.com/mqakeww
A NEW INTRODUCTION TO INEQUALITY IN NEW ZEALAND
Bridget Williams Books has just launched a new short work, ‘The Inequality Debate: An Introduction’, which is drawn from the opening chapters of Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis. http://www.bwb.co.nz/books/the-inequality-debate Available in paperback for $14.99 and as an e-book for just $4.99, it sets out the basic facts about how inequality has grown in New Zealand, and brings the figures in the original work right up to date.
I’m excited about this publication – it’s an ideal ‘way in’ for people not yet familiar with the issue. So if you know anyone who’s curious to know more but who wouldn’t immediately pick up the longer work, this could be the book for them. It’s available to purchase here and in selected bookshops.
Thanks,
Max Rashbrooke
GCSB RADIO PLAY – 3PM, SUNDAY, APRIL 6, NATIONAL RADIO
On February 10 of this year Prime Minister John Key revealed a small number of New Zealand citizens had joined rebel groups in Syria, “some of which have ties to Al Qaeda.” He said the Government had “pretty good” intelligence on rebel supporters in New Zealand.
Two weeks later Radio New Zealand recorded GCSB, a 60-min radio drama looking at a surveillance operation mounted by the Government Communications Security Bureau.
Chad Huber sits with Rory McGrath. “Syria’s on our agenda, Rory. We monitor everyone connected to it, everyone going to it, coming from it. People get—” Chad pauses, searching for the word “—radicalised by what’s going on there. Doesn’t mean anyone would seek out targets here, but it’s sensible to take precautions.”
A Syrian refugee, Yana Walid, has enrolled in Dr Rory McGrath’s course in security studies at Auckland University.
Why? Something to shove on the CV? Something more sinister?
An agent attached to the GCSB, Chad Huber, seeks out Rory for information.
Rory’s an old friend, a defender of the New Zealand intelligence network. He’s appeared before Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee and spoken in favour of the Government Communications Security Bureau Amendment Act, allowing for increased intelligence internet surveillance.
He’s happy to help Chad out.
He questions Yana, reports back to Chad that Yana’s family background is that of support for the regime there and she’s here simply as a refugee from a never-ending civil war.
Rory thinks that’s the end of the matter—until his teenage son tells him Rory’s computer is running slow. Why is it running slow? Because all Rory’s incoming internet and email data is being re-routed and copied elsewhere.
Rory is being monitored…
Two weeks after GCSB was recorded, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden claimed the United States’ spy agency helped find or create loopholes in New Zealand law to enable widespread spying.
GCSB, National Radio, 3pm, Sunday April 6.
MURRAY HORTON SPEAKING TOUR: MARCH 31-MAY 29, 2014 – WHO’S RUNNING THE SHOW? AND IN WHOSE INTERESTS?
Murray Horton is the long serving Organiser and spokesperson for two Christchurch-based groups, the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) and the Anti-Bases Campaign (ABC). He has been a political activist since the late 1960s and has a national profile as a campaigner, writer, speaker, organiser and researcher.
Between the end of March and the end of May he is undertaking an election year national speaking tour, from Dunedin to Kaitaia, and many places inbetween (he has been doing these election year tours for a couple of decades, most recently in 2011).
The full itinerary is at http://2014cafcatour.blogspot.co.nz/p/blog-page.html
Murray will be speaking on four broad topics, which are central to both CAFCA and ABC:
- People’s Rights Before Corporate Profit
- Public Service Not Private Profit
- An Independent Foreign Policy
- No Unjust Secret Treaties
These topics include subjects such: as transnational corporations’ tax avoidance; corporate welfare; asset sales; spying abuses by the GCSB/NSA; the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and Five Eyes, plus plenty more. The speech concentrates on the big picture and is accompanied by a wealth of corroborating material which provides the detail.
These are among the most important issues facing the country; they underlie everything else that the people of this country are concerned about. Any campaign, electoral or otherwise, that doesn’t include them is missing the point. CAFCA and ABC want an independent Aotearoa based on policies of economic, military and political self-reliance, using Aotearoa’s resources for the benefit of the people of Aotearoa. This country needs People Power to let the world know that Aotearoa is not for sale!
Jeremy Agar, Chairperson, CAFCA. Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa. Box 2258, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. cafca
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/cafcafb
Watchblog: http://tinyurl.com/watchblog
twitter:@NZN4S
JOIN THIS YEAR’S AUSTRALIAN SOLIDARITY DELEGATION TO VENEZUELA DECEMBER 2 – 13, 2014
Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network. Registrations are now open for the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network’s 2014 solidarity tour to revolutionary Venezuela.
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