What’s on in Aotearoa/NZ (01/05/15 – May Day)

WHAT’S ON IN AOTEAROA

Friday, May 1, 5pm, QE2 Square (opposite Brittomart), Auckland
CELEBRATE THE VICTORY OVER ZERO HOURS WITH UNITE UNION AND THEIR SUPORTERS.

Friday, 7pm, Unite Office, 6a Western Springs Rd , Morningside Auckland
2nd celebration of the victory over zero hours with refreshments.

Friday, May 1, 8.30pm, Whammy Bar
AAAP May Day Benefit Show: Tourettes, PCP Eagles, the Vietnam War, Gina’s Revenge and Louie Knuxx are playing a May Day benefit gig for Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP). Tickets available through undertheradar.co.nz or on the door. $15 waged/$10 unwaged.
– See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/04/08/may-day-aaap-benefit-show/#sthash.ACuf8a0p.dpuf

Friday, May 1, Knox Presbyterian Church Hall, 28 Bealey Avenue, Christchurch
2014 Roger Award for the Worst Transnational Corporation Operating In Aotearoa/New Zealand

Friday, May 1, and Saturday May 2, Blackball, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand

You are invited to The Blackball/Runanga Mayday Celebrations, 2015.
Friday May, 7.30pm, Schools debate, Grey High versus John Paul 11 7.30pm, Runanga Working Men’s Club. Topic: Capitalism is better than Socialism.
Saturday, May 2, Mayday Forum: A sustainable West Coast economy- a dream or a possibility? Blackball Working Men’s Club. $10 to cover catering. Please register: wkcultur or by ringing 7324010.
Morning session, 9.30am-10.00am registration and morning tea.
10.00am-12.30pm: The Issues: Paul Maunder(Co-ordinator, Blackball Museum): Setting the scene. Grant Robertson(Labour Party Deputy Leader and shadow Finance Minister): The Future of Work. Sam Huggard (Secretary, NZCTU): The Role of the Union Movement. Jeanette Fitzsimmons(past co-leader of Green Party): The problem with the extractive industries. Garth Elliott (EPMU): Face to face with the workers: Debt, precariousness, terror and television. Each speaker, up to 20 minutes. Discussion and comment at end.
Lunch 12.30-1.15pm.
Afternoon session: 1.15pm- 2.40pm: Looking for direction locally. Cuban ambassador, Maria del Carmen Herrera Caseiro: New directions in Cuba. Joseph Thomas, CEO, Development West Coast: DWC’s role. Mayor Tony Kokshoorn : Economic development for a sustainable future in the Grey District. Mayor Gary Howard from Buller District Council: Where to turn?
2.40pm- 3.30pm: Discussion &formation of grass roots pressure group and drafting initial kaupapa.

3.30pm-4.00pm: Afternoon tea.
4.00pm: Blackball Museum of Working Class History. Opening of exhibition of "I Will Die As I’ve Lived", exhibition of paintings by Antonio Guerrero by Cuban Ambassador and opening of new permanent exhibition based on Blackball’s mining past by Mayor Kokshoorn, with cutting of ribbon by Digger Howden, Hank Hynes and Walter Shaw. Followed by drinks/dinner at The Hilton (please book for dinner – 7324705).
8.00pm (Hilton). The annual Runanga versus Blackball debate: It’s time to return to communism.

Saturday, May 2, 2-3pm, Downtown Shopping Centre, Cnr Queen and Customs Streets, Auckland
Rally for Palestine: Add your presence and make a difference at the only regular public display of support for Palestine in Auckland!
Monthly Rally at Downtown Shopping Centre Cnr Queen and Customs Streets. 2pm to 3pm, every first Saturday of each month
The Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand (PHRC) works to raise public awareness of the Palestinian people’s struggle to resist Israeli military occupation and Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

We believe that a just peace in Palestine/Israel depends upon the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland and the dismantling of the Zionist structure of the state of Israel, recognising that the further partitioning of Palestine in order to create the so-called two-state solution would lead only to further injustice and suffering.
We advocate the primacy of international law, the acceptance of which by the Israeli regime must be the basis for the ending of Israeli military occupation and all forms of ethnic discrimination.
We work to raise awareness of the international community’s responsibility for upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the urgent need for the state of Israel to be called to account for its gross abuses of Palestinian human rights.
We call for the establishment of a bi-national, secular and democratic state in Palestine/Israel, with full and equal citizenship rights for all.
We seek to bring pressure on the New Zealand Government to join the majority of the international community in requiring Israel to:
· Observe all relevant UN Resolutions and Geneva conventions
· Cease ethnic discrimination and territorial annexation
· Abandon its militarism and violence
Join the Palestine Human Rights (PHRC) Campaign Auckland
www.palestine.org.nz

Saturday, May 2, 9.30am-4.30pm, Knox Presbyterian Church Hall, 28 Bealey Avenue, Christchurch
THIS WILL BE A ONCE IN 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE! The theme is a combination of celebrating CAFCA’s first 40 years of history; analysing the political/economic situation; and looking forward. It is a celebration with speakers, it’s not a conference. Material on display will feature the old and the new, from CAFCA’s past and present, including screening
a short film of the 1974 Long March across Australia, which inspired the foundation of CAFCINZ (now CAFCA). And you can make a weekend of it, as the event to announce the winner of the 2014 Roger Award for the Worst Transnational Corporation Operating In Aotearoa/New Zealand will be held in the same venue on the previous night (Friday May 1). The cost of the day is a koha (send us a donation or pay at the door). Lunch and morning and afternoon tea will be provided. We are also planning a social event on the night of Saturday May 2 (venue yet to be announced). It will most probably be a meal. That will be at the expense of individual participants. For catering purposes we need to have an idea of numbers, so we ask you to please register in advance.
Speakers: Bill Rosenberg – economic overview; Jane Kelsey – TPPA & investment agreements; Murray Horton – CAFCA history; Warren Thomson – military & intelligence overview; Robert Reid – where is the country going?

Registration and koha to CAFCA, Box 2258, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand Or e-mail to cafca
Online payment details at http://canterbury.cyberplace.co.nz/community/CAFCA/join-cafca.html

Saturday, May 2, 10am, Fresh Gallery, Otara, Auckland
Exhibition showcases Big Picture solutions to child poverty. Child Poverty Action Group is delighted that the wonderful artworks produced for The Big Picture Competition are being shown at Fresh Gallery in Otara, Auckland. The nationwide schools’ competition, which ran last year, gave students a chance to learn about child poverty and be part of making a difference. To enter the competition, schools and youth groups created big pictures to show what children in their neighbourhoods need to be healthy and free from poverty. The pictures were exhibited at Parliament last year and are now being shown in Auckland with the support of the Anglican Trust for Women and Children. "Don’t Waste Let Them Taste" will run at Fresh Gallery in Otara, from 23 April – 2 May. CPAG spokesperson Michael O’Brien said, "The pictures entered in the competition were of a very high standard and showed great understanding of the causes of child poverty as well as looking at innovative and creative solutions. We are delighted that the pictures will be shown in Auckland. It is important for children and young people to know their voices are heard and that they can contribute and make a difference." Child Poverty Action Group will speak about child poverty on the final day of the exhibition, at Fresh Gallery, Saturday 2 May, at 10am.

Wednesday, May 6, 4.30pm, WG404, Case Study Room in the Sir Paul Reeves Building communications precinct. AUT University

AMIRA HASS: REPORTING FROM THE PALESTINIAN PERSPECTIVE: Amira Hass is an award-winning Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper Ha’aretz. She is particularly well-known for her independent reporting on Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has also lived for a number of years. Hass was the recipient of the World Press Freedom Hero award from the International Press Institute in 2000. In 2001, she received the Golden Dove of Peace Prize awarded by the Rome-based organisation Archivo Disarmo. In December 2009, Hass was awarded the Reporters Without Borders Prize for Press Freedom for her "independent and outspoken reporting from the Gaza Strip" for the Israeli daily Ha’aretz during Operation Cast Lead.Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Network (PSN) and hosted by the Pacific Media Centre (PMC).

Also: Thursday, May 7, 7pm,Auckland University, Old Govt House Lecture Theatre G36. Capacity 180.

Thursday, May 7, 6.30pm – 8.00pm Lecture Theatre 5, Owen G Glenn Building, Auckland University
The Future of Journalism and our Democracy. Journalism is a critical part of a healthy democracy. But today it is under pressure from all sides – internet is changing how we consume media, entertainment is preferred to journalism, media owners scout round for new business models and the notions of a fourth estate or a public service falls through the cracks. In New Zealand, political forces are taking advantage of this weakness to control and manipulate the stories we hear. It is getting harder and harder to do good public interest journalism and keep power in check. The threat to Campbell Live is a symptom of a wider crisis within the fourth estate. Can we value journalism and informed debate in the age of the internet or must we hold to the media we have been used to while it clearly declines? Alison McCulloch​, Myles Thomas and Keith Ng will be panelists, leading a discussion on the direction of NZ journalism. You can register for this Auckland event here.

Saturday, May 9, 6.30pm, St. Heliers Community Centre, 100 St. Heliers Bay Road
Amnesty International Quiz Night: Cost: $150 for table of 8, or $25 per person. Discounted prices for pre-purchased tickets. Come for a fun, mentally challenging evening to support a worthy cause. Prizes, also raffles, food and beverage for purchase. Contact: Richard or Jeanette at rebgjfm

Tuesday, May 12, 6pm, St John’s Church hall, cnr Dixon & Willis, Wellington
DIGITAL POWER & SOCIAL CONTROL – Public meeting. https://www.facebook.com/events/850275175062853/
The State and corporations have ever increasing data about us, while we know less and less about what they are doing. Come and join the discussion about collection of personal data, how we can resist this shifting form of social control and understand what’s going on.
Speakers: