Fri, 22 Oct 2004

Alliance Supports Anti-Racism March

The Alliance Party encourages people to show their anger at racist politics and the right-wing National Front, and join this Saturday's anti-racism march in Wellington, being organised by Multicultural Aotearoa.

"The Alliance wholeheartedly supports the march's three goals of stopping the National Front, ending humiliating immigration policies and putting an end to Maori bashing," said Mike Treen, the Alliance's International and Immigration Spokesperson. "The National Front's politics must be exposed for what they are – racist and ignorant politics, underpinned by fear, that belong to the dustbin of history."

"Labour's policies also fuel the racist fear mongers. Labour has supported pregnancy tests, racist language requirements for immigration, detained Ahmed Zaoui for two years, appointed Trevor Mallard as Race Relations Minister to set about "reviewing" the use of Te Tiriti in economic and social policy, and abolished Maori legal rights to the foreshore and seabed," said Treen.

"And Brash's insidious rhetoric fails to acknowledge where the real wealth and privilege reside within Aotearoa-New Zealand. Where is a huge proportion of the wealth currently concentrated? What are the ethnic and gendered identities of those who make up the rich list? Whose cultural beliefs shape our educational, health and finance systems? Who in this country is more likely to go on to quality tertiary education? Who in this country is more likely to be working for the minimum wage and have very little autonomy in their workplace? Yes Dr Brash, a review of privilege certainly identifies those making a feast out of this unjust capitalist system."

The Alliance seeks to build a society where people live in harmony with each other and the environment, working co-operatively to satisfy all their individual and social needs, where human cultural and gender diversity is celebrated, and human creativity liberated.

The biggest impediment to a just and equal society is clearly an unrestrained capitalist system, dominated by powerful corporates. The Alliance stands for a reorganisation of society to transfer real power to all people of Aotearoa not just a select few, who currently tend to be wealthy, white, men!

ENDS

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