Christchurch event: book launch ‘Remains to be Seen’

June 8, 2011 by

A new book by Christchurch activist Jared Davidson Remains to be Seen traces the ashes of Joe Hill — radical songwriter, union organiser and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) — from their distribution in Chicago to wartime New Zealand. Drawing on previously unseen archival material, it examines the persecution of anarchists, socialists and Wobblies in New Zealand during the First World War. It also explores how intense censorship measures — put in place by the National Coalition Government of William Massey and zealously enforced by New Zealand’s Solicitor-General, Sir John Salmond — effectively silenced and suppressed the IWW in New Zealand.

The book will be launched in Christchurch on Thursday June 30 at Beat Street Cafe (Corner Barbadoes and Armagh), at 5.30pm. Copies of the book will also be available for purchase. A review of Remains to be Seen will appear in the August issue of The Spark and on this website.

Filed Under: Events

Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill: A Challenge to Democratic Norms

May 17, 2011 by

This article by guest writer Lindsay Breach will appear in the June issue of The Spark

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a trade agreement between New Zealand, eight other nations, and the United States. Of particular concern to this article, is that the agreement promises to introduce a strongly U.S. influenced intellectual property regime to New Zealand. Already, this influence has been felt in the shaping of copyright legislation as evidenced by leaked cables indicating the industry is willing to pay $533,000 to fix “key gaps in intellectual property rights enforcement”. The lesson: it appears our legislation can be bought.

Wednesday, April the 13th was a black day for democracy in New Zealand. The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill was rushed through under urgency, which had been previously reserved for Canterbury earthquake related legislation. This Bill had been postponed due to previous public outcry and was highly contentious law. It seemed particularly insulting to Christchurch residents, the victims of the February 22nd Earthquake, because their suffering and the nation’s state of emergency had seemingly been trivialised.

The Bill introduces a ‘guilt upon accusation’ infringement notice three-strike scheme. This scheme dresses up a civil action, between two parties, as a criminal offense. The copyright holder can request an Internet Service Provider to send an infringement notice, with or without good cause for suspicion, to an account holder. After three strikes, the account holder can be taken to the Copyright tribunal. The burden is on the account holder to prove their innocence against the allegation. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Intellectual property, Science & Technology

Lessons of 1951: The waterfront lockout 60 years on (part two)

April 4, 2011 by

By Josh Glue, Workers Party Hamilton Branch

(Part 1)

The waterfront lockout of 1951 was one of the most important events in New Zealand labour history. For 151 days, the men who worked the waterfront and those who supported them fought back against the combined power of the ship-owners and the state, who were determined to force cutbacks upon them and destroy their union. Seen as an historical defeat by some, an inspiring fight-back by others, the waterfront lockout holds important lessons for those who struggle for workers rights today.
In this second of two articles about this pivotal moment in the history of the working class of this country, we will examine the way working people came together to oppose the emergency regulations and support the wharfies, the way the government attempted to crush this support, and the way the lockout ended. Most importantly, we will see the importance of these events for modern New Zealand, what we can learn today from the men and women who stood up for their rights in 1951.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Labour history

Unite starts Facebook campaign against unfair sacking

March 24, 2011 by

Bring Back Pat

Unite has launched a Facebook campaign for Pat Bidois, a union delegate at St Georges Language School who was unfairly dismissed. The page reads:

Management have been trying to get rid of Pat for years as she is an effective and passionate defender of workers rights on her site.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Workers in Struggle

Earthquake results in disaster for Japanese people

March 22, 2011 by

Rebecca Broad, Workers Party National Organiser

A magnitude nine earthquake and consequent 23 ft tidal wave, occurring 70km off the northeast coast of Japan March 11, has caused severe and extensive damage to that country. The three prefectures or states of Miyagi, Fukushima, and Iwate have sustained the most damage and loss of life. Multiple coastal towns have been completely destroyed by the tsunami. The Japanese military is heading up the recovery operation with 100,000 troops mobilised. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare estimates that 2.5 million households could be affected, and 1.6 million houses over 11 prefectures have no access to clean water. The number of estimated deaths and officially missing on March 21 was respectively 18,000 and 9,200, according to the National Police Agency. However both of those amounts are expected to continue rising. Nearly 500,000 people are living in emergency shelters and around 22,000 people have been saved by rescuers so far.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized
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