A senior figure in New Zealand First’s youth wing has been linked to a neo-Nazi group and online accounts that praised Adolf Hitler. Great work from @comingupcharlie.bsky.social www.thepress.co.nz/politics/361...

ISO Coordinating Committee member @oscar-bartle.bsky.social on the mic in this Otago Daily Times coverage of yesterday’s student strike in Ōtepoti. #nzpol #FreeEducation #protest www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

Dunedin students unite to protest end of fees free scheme

Dunedin students unite to protest end of fees free scheme

odt.co.nz

Fix this headline. Minister appoints FSU backed Doctor with history of anti-Māori views and transphobia to Medical Council to replace those he saw as having an "ideological agenda". Not even hiding it here are they? www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361...

Doctor at centre of free speech row appointed to Medical Council

Dr Manoja Kalupahana has been appointed by Health Minister Simeon Brown to the statutory body responsible for regulating New Zealand's 20,000 doctors.

stuff.co.nz

“Commentators claim #protests are ineffective. But these ‘90s protests forced unis to implement smaller fee increases than planned, prevented privatisation & the first attempt to introduce VSM legislation. Without ISO, those struggles would have been less effective” #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/07/27/r...

Rising Fees, Declining Allowances, Climbing Debt: Aotearoa Student Struggles in the 1990s

We can learn much of value from the student struggles of the 1990s for the student struggles in the second half of the 2020s against high fees, inadequate provision of student allowances, and rising s...

iso.org.nz

In Wellington too! Please share.

A teacher writes: “The govt’s attacks on #education are galling in a world where AI challenges the very concept of employment & climate disasters ravage the planet. We need a society of creative thinkers. All this govt offers is privatisation & exploitation” #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/07/24/a...

Attacks on Education: Counting the Crimes

A Crisis in Achievement or a Crisis in Society? Is education in crisis? It certainly seems so. Those of us who are working in schools have had to deal with the cavalcade of changes. That includes curr...

iso.org.nz

“Under new laws, immigration officers will be able to demand ID from suspected overstayers at homes & workplaces. Anti-immigration legislation directly harms migrant communities, while legitimising increased exploitation & surveillance of the entire working class” #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/07/10/n...

New Laws Harken Back to the Dawn Raids Era

Under new laws, immigration officers will be able to demand identification from suspected overstayers at their homes and workplaces. These out-of-hours compliance visits harken back to policies of the...

iso.org.nz

“Politicians stoke fears about migrants “dragging down wages,” but employers leveraging migrants’ precarity is what creates a race to the bottom, impacting all workers. This creates a material interest for all of us to fight these harmful policies” #nzpol #noborders iso.org.nz/2026/07/06/m...

Migrants are not Disposable Workers!

Last year on 18 December, International Migrants Day, Union Network of Migrants (UNEMIG) joined with other groups to protest outside the office of Immigration Minister Erica Stanford, raising the slog...

iso.org.nz

Born in 1991 after discontent w/ Labour, the social democratic Alliance were an alternative to the neoliberal norm. 2026 is different. The Alliance has shifted left as #democraticsocialists. Their campaign is well-intentioned but political conditions are against it #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/07/03/p...

Party Profiles: The Alliance

The most brutal right-wing government this country has seen since the 1990s is in power. The opposition is led by Chris Hipkins, the spineless neoliberal Labour Party leader promising to be a “continu...

iso.org.nz

The #Socialist No. 22 is on migrants & migration, leading w/ “No bombs, no billionaires, no borders!” The bumper 24pp incl Dawn Raids: Capitalism & Resistance, Class War Budget & Migrants Are Not Disposable Workers. Available from ISO members, mtgs, stalls. Subscribe: iso.org.nz/the-socialist
#nzpol

“Above all else, what Nicola Willis and Chris Luxon are doing in the 2026 Budget is taking from poor and middling folks and giving to the rich, who also happen to be National and ACT’s main political donors.” #nzpol #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/06/25/a...

A Class War Budget

Above all else, what Nicola Willis and Chris Luxon are doing in the 2026 Budget is taking from poor and middling folks and giving to the rich, who also happen to be National and ACT’s main political d...

iso.org.nz

“How should the Left understand racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, & ableism? Some say bigotry is a distraction to divide the working class. Others read injustice as institutional. We understand that social relations are not independent parts, but relational” #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/06/24/s...

Social Reproduction Theory: The Working Class Against Oppression

How should the Left understand racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism? And how do these categories relate to class? Some view the problem as ideological: the ruling class uses bigotry as...

iso.org.nz

The worst trade union shop steward I've ever known had better negotiating skills with management that Trump has demonstrated with Iran over the last months. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war

US entered war with maximalist goals and exits it with pragmatic decision to end conflict despite political cost

theguardian.com

“The Green Party of Aotearoa NZ is currently the most left-wing it has ever been. It is the largest pole of attraction for radicals and even socialists. But they’re committed to the root cause of the problems they seek to address: capitalism.” #nzpol #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/06/17/p...

Party Profiles: The New Zealand Greens – A Marxist Critique

This piece is one in a series of profiles of electoral parties in the lead up to the 2026 General Election. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is currently the most left-wing it has ever been. It...

iso.org.nz

“The world economy was already in trouble before the US and Israel attack on #Iran commencing February 2026. The war will accelerate a world-wide economic crisis that will inevitably mean attacks on workers and suffering among the peoples of the Global South.” #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/06/14/t...

The Economy, the War, and a Coming Employers’ Offensive

The world economy was already in trouble before the US and Israel attack on Iran commencing February 2026. Writing in May, the nature of the conflict may well have changed by the time these words are ...

iso.org.nz

Today ISO marched in solidarity with Trans people, backing the words in our submission on the “Definitions of Woman and Man” Bill with actions. #nzpol #transrights #socialism 🧵1/3 🔗 Read our submission on the Bill here: iso.org.nz/2026/06/12/a...

“Are you a “blue-collar hard-working Kiwi” or a “weirdo with purple hair?” NZ First is trying to exploit a real social misery. A wave of factory closures fit traditional images of “blue collar” work. And these are job losses happening on NZ First’s watch” #nzpol #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/06/11/c...

Class and Struggle in Aotearoa Today

Are you a “blue-collar hard-working Kiwi” or a “weirdo with purple hair?” New Zealand First, Winston Peters claimed in his March State of the Nation speech, is the only party that “understands what a ...

iso.org.nz

“Nationalism means war-making & anti-migrant violence. But #socialism isn’t cultural homogeneity. We want a world where people have an unaliented relationship with land, histories & languages, & where many identities flourish unhindered by nationalist repression” #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/06/08/n...

N for Nationalism

What is Nationalism, and why do socialists oppose it? While often presented as timeless, the nation-state is a relatively new phenomenon. The evolution of modern nation-states in Europe in the 19th ce...

iso.org.nz

“The “Cold War” is considered to be over, but we remain on the brink of global destruction for a variety of reasons; and at the root of all of those reasons is still the system of capitalism which persists despite our efforts.” #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/06/05/m...

Mutually Assured Destruction

War, and consequent death of both soldiers and non-combatants, has been a miserable feature of much of human history. It’s only relatively late in our history, however, that we have faced the possibil...

iso.org.nz

ISO members helped to lead marches today, protesting government attacks on students. From Ōtepoti in the south up to Tāmaki Makaurau, we say - Keep fees free! #nzpol #socialism www.rnz.co.nz/news/educati...

“It cannot be understated that #RocketLab is now a US corporation with explicit ties to an empire hungry for blood, cheap labour, and cheaper resources.” #nzpol #imperialism #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/05/26/i...

I Spy With My Satellite: Rocketing Towards Genocide

Money makes the world go round, or rather, money goes around the world. Countless banks, corporations, funds, and trusts shift capital in a global investment market. Guns, bullets, bandages, and burge...

iso.org.nz

ISO members joined ~1k people rallying against public sector job cuts yesterday. The action, called by the PSA, came a day after the govt announced a $1.5 billion lolly scramble for the military. Our response: “Defend our public services”, “No war but class war!” #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Historical Materialism is a theory of history. It is not deterministic, but affirms that we have agency, even if in conditions not of our own choosing. Within society, there are seeds of other possibilities, which can be realised through collective action #nzpol #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/05/20/m...

M for Materialism

Historical Materialism is a theory of history, a way of understanding the world. It is the fundamental underpinning of Marxist analysis. As the name suggests, this is a “materialist” framework: it sta...

iso.org.nz

The rise of #NZFirst cannot be separated from the economic restructuring of the 1980s & 1990s. With the left & right implementing neoliberalism, weakened social-democracy created space for new formations that mobilise discontent w/o challenging capitalism itself. #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/05/18/u...

Uncle Winny’s Bloc Party: A Profile on New Zealand First

This piece is one in a series of profiles of electoral parties in the lead up to the 2026 General Election. Just as Wiremu Tamihana was declared “Kingmaker” in the 1850s, “Old Racist Uncle” Winston Pe...

iso.org.nz

Living standards are slipping as unemployment rises, wages fall, & public services are cut. The antidote to gloom & doom is to celebrate & extend every forward step by the working class. Such a step is brewing: a ‘Wellington Works’ campaign by Unions #Wellington #nzpol iso.org.nz/2026/05/11/w...

Wellington Works: Taking Privatised Services Back In-House

The working class of Aotearoa has been faced with attacks on all sides by a hostile reactionary government. Living standards are slipping as unemployment rises, wages fall behind, and public services ...

iso.org.nz

Issue 20 of The Socialist lead with: “ #NoWar But #ClassWar!” Articles: The Capitalist Drive to War, Turn Anti-War Sentiment to Action, #HandsOffCuba, & Mutually Assured Destruction. Available from ISO members, meetings, & stalls. Or subscribe here: iso.org.nz/the-socialist #nzpol #socialism

A strike is not just a symbolic protest. It works because we withhold something that the employer needs: production, profits, and above all, control over us. Our guide to striking and winning breaks down how to plan, build, and sustain a powerful strike. Learn more here: labornotes.org/strikes

How to Strike and Win: A Labor Notes Guide

After a long absence, the strike seems to be making a comeback in the U.S. The teacher strike wave of 2018-19 caught everyone off guard—but showed that workers’ most powerful tool can still win. As we...

labornotes.org

“The #Luddites are now remembered as a group of angry rioters who, in their fear, impotently smashed machinery. In reality, however, they were a network of organised workers with specific demands – fairer wages and better working conditions.” iso.org.nz/2026/05/07/w...

Who Were The Luddites?

The Luddites currently occupy an almost mythological presence in the cultural imagination. Now a derogatory term, to be a Luddite, we’re told, is a shameful thing: to be backwards-looking, hateful of ...

iso.org.nz

Biometry - the automated measurement of human features - can enable personal access to our phones and laptops by facial or fingerprint recognition. Unfortunately this is where the good news ends. Biometrics & surveillance are weapons of class warfare against us #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/05/03/b...

Biometrics and Surveillance are Weapons of Class Warfare

Biometry is the analysis of biological data. Much more recently, the term “biometrics” has taken on a particular popular focus: specifically, the automated measurement of human features, often for ind...

iso.org.nz

“Capitalism & technology often seem synonymous. The word technology conjures an image of Google HQ full of tech bros yapping about how best to maximise ad revenue, but a different vision of tech is possible: one that centres humanity & shared creation” #nzpol #socialism iso.org.nz/2026/04/30/t...

The Socialist Vision of Technology

Capitalism and technology often seem synonymous. The word technology conjures an image of Google headquarters full of tech bros in suits yapping about how best to maximise ad revenue, but a different ...

iso.org.nz