A short report on a strike by health workers in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Today over 10,000 members of the allied, public health, scientific, and technical District Health Board (DHB) workforce went on strike. These are the ‘essential’ workers across 70 occupations, who continued their jobs throughout the lockdown and do the mahi behind the scenes that rarely gain attention. They have been in negotiations with the DHBs’ for over a year-and-a-half and have had no progress.

Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) was able to join the picket line outside the hospital in Rotorua. About 20 workers in two groups stood by the side of the road, waving flags and placards. Many passing cars honked in support.

AWSM spoke to two of the participants about the action. Both workers spoke anonymously about their action and were reluctant to be recorded or filmed. When asked why, the answer was “Well, I’ve never been on any protest in my life so I feel shy and I don’t know what it’s ok to do or not do in this situation”. This modest reaction is strongly symbolic of the kind of employment landscape that exists in 2022. Here are ordinary people who normally go unseen and just turn up every day to work bloody hard. Due to the low level of militancy caused by 30+ years of union-bashing legislation from the political parties, today’s workers have rarely had the opportunity to express themselves via strike action. However, they have been pushed to this point. As one of the allied workers told AWSM “Apart from the negotiations which are partly about pay parity with nurses, this is also about the cost of living increases everyone has. It’s coming across in all sorts of ways. I went to get my dog’s nails clipped and it cost $5 more than last time, for no obvious reason. Everything is going up”.

The current strike is one of last resort, and therefore limited and defensive in nature. However, the workers on strike today are not alone within their sector. Senior doctors are unhappy with their pay negotiations, orderlies feel their pay is woefully low, with previous increases also being swallowed by the cost of living. Lab technicians are also being overwhelmed. Hopefully, this sense of shared frustration will lead to even stronger and ongoing actions as this year continues. We in AWSM wish them luck in their struggles.

A look at the ongoing convoy protest in parliament grounds in Wellington, New Zealand/Aotearoa.

By Pink Panther

They call it Freedom Convoy 2022.

They claim it’s all about freedom.

A mishmash of groups who are fighting for contradictory “freedoms” have been camped in and around the New Zealand Parliament in Wellington since February 6th.

They range from Maori nationalists to New Age conspiracy theorists, white supremacists to religious fundamentalists, and other fringe groups including the extreme right sovereign citizen movement. Their flags flutter everywhere. Their banners, which peddle pseudo-science and conspiracy ‘theories’, litter the grounds of Parliament and decorate many of the vehicles that are blocking key roads around it. Inflammatory rhetoric, including calls to kill leading politicians and journalists, is being broadcast online and repeated in banners and posters. Their vitriol is clear for anyone who is walking past Parliament. Yet, because there is a variety of motivations for involvement, some are not aligned with dodgy groups and many of the protesters are counter-culture and anti-Establishment types who are upset about vaccination mandates, some Anarchists and others on the Left have decided to support the protesters.

Those Lefties are misguided.

Just because some protesters are dancing to Bob Marley and smoking joints doesn’t make their involvement defensible. It doesn’t mean we give the whole thing our endorsement. It doesn’t make the conspiracies any more acceptable. The anti-Semitic claptrap about the Rothschilds bankrolling the mainstream media, Bill Gates and Jacinda Ardern being part of a plot to use the Covid-19 vaccination programme to microchip the world’s population and that the pandemic was planned by “the deep state” or similar bogeyman lurking in the background.

Let’s not forget we are in the midst of a pandemic that has killed over 5.877 million people worldwide. It has crippled health systems around the world as they’ve been overwhelmed with patients. Normally, I would be the first to protest against the imposition of any laws that curtail our freedoms to move about and to gather with others, including comrades, family and friends. However, this is one exceptional time when we probably need to accept the necessity of such restrictions, with caveats. As long as the restrictions are proven by relevantly qualified scientific experts to be essential and are restricted to as short a time as necessary, so that the Covid-19 virus can be combated and its spread curtailed as much as is practical.

This does not mean we should simply accept whatever the powers-that-be are saying. Our point of view should be rooted in the implication of the science, not influenced by the additional agenda of the state. We must do everything in our power to make sure that they do not use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to broadly crack down on civil liberties and human rights, as has happened in countries like Brazil, China and Hungary. On this point the anti-vaccination protesters do have a valid point. There should be some indication as to when the mandates could be lifted that can be measured, such as the number of cases coming down to less than ten a day for a month. We must retain our critical independence.

There is also the thorny question of how to address the many tangata whenua/indigenous people of the land who have joined the ranks of the protesters. Should we be supporting them? On this occasion the answer is a blunt no.

Local iwi/tribes have condemned the protests and the use of Maori sovereignty flags by the protesters. The key reason is because of the number of Maori who have died in past pandemics because they weren’t vaccinated and because Maori soldiers who fought overseas in the Second World War were vaccinated. To oppose vaccinations is seen as dishonouring those ancestors. (Wellington’s Tangata Whenua want protesters to leave, Stuff, February 17th, 2022.) In response, many of the Maori protesters have condemned these leaders – and Maori who oppose them – as traitors, especially on Twitter.

When it comes to addressing how to deal with Covid-19 we must let the science and facts do the talking. Those facts include:

1. The Pfizer vaccine, along with other Covid-19 vaccines, were developed from existing SARS vaccines because Covid-19 is a variant of the SARS virus. (It’s officially called the severe respiratory syndrome coronations 2 or SARS-CoV-2.) It’s not an experimental medicine or vaccination in which we’re all unwilling guinea pigs.

2. As of January 31st, 2022, a total of 9,461,496 vaccinations were administered in New Zealand. 49,412 resulted in non-serious side effects and 2,460 resulted in serious side effects. That’s 0.54% of doses that resulted in any side effects. (Source: Medsafe.)

3. Comparing New Zealand’s death rates on a per capita basis our Covid-19 current death rate is the lowest in the OECD and in actual numbers. This is due almost entirely to the lockdowns and severe restrictions on entering and leaving this country.

4. There are no 100% guarantees that a person won’t get Covid-19 if they are fully vaccinated. I personally have a friend who got Covid-19 despite being double vaccinated. However, this does not mean people shouldn’t get vaccinated because it does protect over 95% of those who get the Pfizer vaccination from getting Covid-19. (Source: Comparing the Covid-19 vaccines: How are they different? Kathy Katella, Yale University, January 31st, 2022.)

5. Homeopathy, alternative or traditional “medicines” and various super foods will not prevent anyone from getting Covid-19. Just because something isn’t manufactured by Big Pharma it doesn’t make it safe.

Looking at the class composition of the protest, there is no doubt a range of people involved. Regardless of who is involved, those who are unemployed have lost their jobs because they have refused to take a vaccine that is free, widely available, has been around a while, has caused limited severe reactions, has been thoroughly tested and which will keep them out of hospital. It’s not mandatory to get the vaccination. However, as with all things, not getting vaccinated carries consequences.

It’s also not just about them. They often talk about herd immunity to validate their arguments. Herd immunity is not about protecting selfish people who refuse to get vaccinated. In part its about protecting those who can’t get vaccinated for genuine medical reasons, such as cancer patients with compromised immune systems and people with diseases like Hashimoto Disease that compromise their immune system.

You can sometimes do good things for poor reasons. Perhaps some people have become vaccinated out of fear of the government. Though I doubt there are many real people like that. I think and hope the best among us who have been fully vaccinated and got our boosters aren’t doing it because of government instructions or mandates. We did it because the science stands up and we actually give a damn about our communities, our comrades and our families and friends. We’re vaccinated to protect others, not just ourselves. Not all the participants of the protest are anti-vaxx. There are some who are double vaxxed but oppose the mandates. To them I’d say a better approach than joining the convoy would be to convince their unvaccinated friends to get vaccinated and thus take the teeth out of the mandates. This convoy protest highlights a clash between ideologies that are solipsistic and selfish and those with a sense of fundamental social, collective responsibility.

And that is the problem with the protests outside Parliament.

When Anarchists march to Parliament it is because we are advocating for a greater cause than ourselves. We join a hikoi because we want to see change aimed at improving (or radically changing) society for the betterment of working people. We march because we oppose wars of neo-colonialism and imperialism. We march because we are appalled by various “isms”, such as racism and sexism, that have blighted the world.

What we don’t engage in a hikoi for, is the “freedom” to do whatever the hell you want, to peddle conspiracies largely devoid of any proven facts and to ignore and undermine science.

Just because some of those protesters are listening to Bob Marley while smoking weed or belong to the working classes it doesn’t make them harmless. The fact they’re willing to stand side by side with racist and religious bigots peddling harmful conspiracies, means these people have made poor choices. Tailing uncritically behind such participants is not the answer. The wero/challenge this situation throws down for us is to offer better alternatives rooted in science, logic and true transnational solidarity. It is a perspective that should also not just silently fall in with the government but challenges the state from a principled view where we can on this issue. It is one that simultaneously continues to challenge the government on other issues such as rising food, fuel and rent prices etc and other harmful aspects of the capitalist system the state props up. The people in the protest are not idiots, they’ve made bad choices and its partly because we haven’t done a good enough job of suggesting something better. Rather than join the current protest, we should be putting our efforts into that. Anarchists should oppose the protest, oppose the government and build better social and economic alternatives to either.

https://awsm.nz/?p=12746

A report about a hikoi/march in opposition to the construction of a marina in Tamaki Makarau/Auckland in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

On the early sunny morning of the 19th of January 2022, around 150 Auckland residents gathered at
Queen’s Wharf in the Auckland CBD for a hikoi to the High Court in support of halting the development of
a large marina at Kennedy Point, Pūtiki Bay. It was also in support of the 32 Waiheke residents who were
served with a trespassing injunction for the marina’s construction site on Kennedy Point— their own
ancestral moana and whakapapa, back in November. The first hearing of the injunction issued by Kennedy
Point Marina, the developers of the marina, was held that afternoon.

Kennedy Point Marina had issued the injunction via the High Court back in November 2021 without notice
to the protesters or addressment with Iwi. The protester’s heinous crime; the act of peacefully
demonstrating against the ongoing degradation of Waiheke and the Hauraki Gulf’s marine health as a
whole, the stripping of whakapapa from Ngāti Pāoa and hapū , and the malicious and illegal
noncompliance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi from the developers and Auckland Council since 2017. The
approval under the Resource Management Act for the construction of the marina was done without the unanimous consent of
all iwi-group boards involved, with Auckland council approving the marina without the correct consultation
with all of Ngāti Pāoa representative boards to the crown, an illegal act in accordance with Te Tiriti.

The marina, an 8 hectare floating monstrosity that will berth 186 yachts, is being placed right in the
middle of a clean (-ish, for now) swimming and kayaking spot in Pūtiki Bay, and will forever harmoniously
contribute to the ongoing pollution that seeps from all the other 18 marinas in the Hauraki Gulf. The bay is
also notably a habitat for kororā, little blue penguins, who’s population in New Zealand has been in rapid
decline (70% decline since 1960s) due to such development’s pollution, climate change, and depletion of
the surrounding ecosystem. Although kororā are not yet endangered, they have an ‘at risk’ status by
conservation groups. According to the ‘State of our Gulf’ reports (Auckland Council’s very own 3-year
environmental gulf report), it is developments like this that heavily contribute to this degradation of such
habitats.
“Ports and marinas: Our commercial footprint is growing: adding visual clutter, affecting the seafloor,
changing marine communities, and providing a foothold for pests.”

– 2020 State of our Gulf Report

The reports are a hallowing reminder that the institutions that are expected to maintain and hold those
who do harm to the environment and aquaculture in contempt, are clearly either completely inept or
actively colluding with the destruction of marine life for commercial gain. Simple figures from graphs
from the 2020 report reveal the extent of damage to the fauna and biology of the gulf;
Despite the nature of the march, the crowd, made up of families, climate activists, rangatahi, students,
and local residents alike, were still in high spirits as they marched up from Queens Wharf through the city.
Signs such as “#ProtectPūtiki”, “Uphold the Rahui”, and “Protect our Kororā” were supplemented with loud
chants and waiata. Some signs reminded those of the physical and harmful reality of the developers’
actions; a “Hands off our wahine” sign resonated with stories from November in Pūtiki when one of the 32
protesters were charged with endangerment because the developers rammed her kayak with their boat
while she was protesting with her daughter— that the police restrained and physically removed kaitiaki
from their ancestral moana — and that the developers prioritised their profits over following Te Tiriti.

Once reaching the entrance to the High Court the protesters settled for korero. Whaea Kathryn, a lifelong
Waiheke resident, summed up the historical importance and sacredness the bay signifies as well as the
ecological influence the bay has on the gulf that surrounds Tāmaki Makaurau itself;

“What is sacred? Is it sacred that eight-hundred years ago Te Awara waka came through the headlands of
Pūtiki, that people from that waka then went south to the Bay of Plenty, but then some of them came back
and they settled that bay? […] What do we have in this country that are our historical taonga — that are our
sacred taonga? I think we have little more than places like that — places where huge battles were fought,
and that happened at Pūtiki as well. Places that have been continually occupied. Places where Pah sites
surrounded everything. Places where archeological sites are all around the bay. Places where burial sites
are all around the bay. Now Auckland council doesn’t consider that a sacred site, but if they don’t for Maori
people, what do they consider sacred? What is sacred for us? […] When we say ‘honour the Treaty’, partially,
that is what we are talking about.”

She continues on to describe the ecological importance of this shared space;

“[…] They could live there in that beautiful bay in which I was born—which I was fed from, which I spent my
whole life practically looking over—[because] there are all of these habitats. We’ve got deep muddy bits,
we’ve got the sea-grass meadows, we’ve got the mangrove swamps, we’ve got the shelly beaches, we’ve got
the rocky beaches, we’ve got deep water — tidal water. And we’ve got a whole heap of birds and fish, the fish
that I was fed from, the cockles, the oysters, the mussels that I was fed from — all of those things grow in
that bay and those people came here because it was such an ecological wonderland for them. All of these
streams come into the bay, it’s got basically the biggest watershed on the whole island.”

The singing of waiata as the hikoi made its way through Queen Street, up towards the High Court, felt like
deja vu in relation to so many other public spaces being land-grabbed by private enterprise in this country.
These controversies are not in isolation, but part of the insatiable desire of the wealthy class of New
Zealand for ownership and therefore profit of anything and everything, no matter the consequences.
These escapades for profit, with institutional law as its legitimising tool, do not even stop at the commons
— the air, the water, the habitable earth that is to be shared for all. These smaller community battles such
as #ProtectPūtiki and #ProtectIhumātao are pieces of a wider and continuous reminder of the capitalist
systems and its colonial roots that play their part in upholding the ideology that common spaces which
make up who we are and directly contribute to the health of society as a whole, are free to be
commercialised for the benefit of capital and profit, for those who already have so much of it. Everything
is for sale and is an opportunity to reap capital— even if that sale is of something that does not belong to
you and only benefits the few at the top while taking away the bare necessities for everyone else in their
own backyard. The crossover concepts of the collective ownership of the commons within Anarchist
manifest and mātauranga Māori are apparent here as much as they ever could be in Aotearoa.

A short summary of the first book club session held by Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM).

Note: Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) has decided for 2022 to initiate a project of monthly book readings on subjects of interest to anarchists. It is open to the public.

AWSM Book club #1
1/09/22

Subject: CoronaVirus and riots in the Netherlands by Peter Gelderloos, from Corona virus & Anarchism: pandemic’s anthology Edited and compiled by AGA and ACAA

We all agree that this piece is short and sweet. Helpfully holds a mirror to the ways white people on the left can unintentionally become more concerned with ego and righteousness and may fail to honour the agency of people of colour who they disagree with.

It was mentioned that although Pākehā radicals must support movements for and by people of colour, we shouldn’t rush to insert ourselves where we aren’t wanted or needed.

We see shortcomings in our own organization’s ceding counter-narratives to the right. Certain critiques of power have become infectious and contagious, as if we are worried we will catch “Rightwingitus”.

When it comes to engaging with people that have been lost to the right, the methodology of Street Epistemology was mentioned. Gently probe “Why” they believe what they believe. While that was accepted as a good method of communication with those who have right-wing beliefs, it was agreed that it cannot be the responsibility of marginalised people to be on the front lines of these discussions

Gelderloos’ piece brought up the discussion that AWSM needs to be doing a better job at disseminating specifically Māori peoples absolutely reasonable and necessary mistrust of the colonial-medical system. It was then, very helpfully noted that in the spirit of the article we just read, we cannot try to speak for marginalised voices. We should do the work to find the voices already out there, rather than speak over folks. We all agreed that we should find people to signal-boost in Solidarity and on social media. Tina Ngata was highlighted as an important voice to be amplified.

On the procedural note, it was mentioned that we were potentially being too ambitious by trying to tackle the whole anthology in one session. It was decided that instead of moving on to a new subject next month, we’ll just choose another article from this anthology.

Endnote: if you are interested in participating in future book club events, please get in touch!

Email – awsm@riseup.net

Twitter – @_aotearoawsm

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AotearoaWSM/

https://awsm.nz/?p=12479

A message of support for striking casino workers in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The workers at SkyCity Casino in Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, North Island, New Zealand/Aotearoa, have brought in the new year by going on strike. The company makes megabucks thanks to the efforts of its staff, yet the workers in the city do not have pay equity with those in Auckland. Since workers across the country hired by the same company have to deal with identical conditions and many of the same hardships, this attempt by management to divide them needs to be called out through such actions as this.

Workers in Aotearoa have to battle a legislative framework that has been constructed over decades to deny them power. Workers are encouraged to see themselves as isolated individuals who throw the dice and take their chances. We in Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) have few resources but wish to express our support to the SkyCity workers. They have begun this year by leading the way and showing that the best means to gain anything is through their own actions and united rather than operating as individuals. They aren’t waiting for politicians or bosses to generously deal them what they themselves have created.

We call on fellow workers everywhere to inform others about this action and to offer whatever support they can.

An Injury to one is an injury to all!