GPJA#288

Global Peace And Justice Auckland Newsletter #288, June 8, 2009

Website: http://www.gpja.org.nz/

Dear friends,

Special note of two events this Thursday - Unite Union's launch of the living wage campaign at 2pm and a report back at 7pm from Cuba on the campaign to "Free the Five" (See below for details).

WHAT'S ON IN AUCKLAND

Thursday, June 11, 2pm, Mt. Albert War Memorial Hall, 751 New North Road, Mt Albert, Auckland LAUNCH OF UNITE UNION CAMPAIGN FOR A LIVING WAGE: to get an immediate rise in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and then to set it at 2/3rds of the average wage. The first part of the campaign is to collect over 300,000 signatures within 12 months on our Citizen’s Initiated Referendum Petition. Against the backdrop of the Mt. Albert by-election, unite in Mt. Albert to launch a campaign and amovement that will forever change the way people think about low paid workers in this country.

Thursday, June 11, 7pm, Trades Hall, 147 Gt. North Rd, Grey Lynn FREE THE CUBAN FIVE - Hear Annalucia Vermunt, participant in Havana youth meeting in solidarity with the Cuban Five. ‘This is not a legal case, it is an eminently political case’ explained Olga Salanueva to the Second International Youth Meeting in Solidarity with the Cuban Five held in Havana, Cuba, on May 11 and 12. Salanueva is the wife of Ren Gonzalez, one of the five Cubanpatriots who were in Florida in the 1990s to monitor right-wing groups that have a history of carrying out deadly attacks on Cuba. The five were arrested in September 1998 and convicted in a frame-up trial. They have now been in jail for more than ten years. In the week of June 15-22, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to accept a petition to review an appeals court decision against thefive. Among the 145 people at the international youth conference was Annalucia Vermunt, who lives in Auckland and has participated in actions here building support for the five. The conference resolved to step up efforts to build the defence campaign. At this meeting, Vermunt will report on the conference and the fight to free the Five. Post, with any donations, to: Cuba Friendship Society, 8/26ASunnynook Rd, Forrest Hill, North Shore City.

Saturday, June 20, 11.45am, Friend’s Meeting House, 113 Mt Eden Road, Auckland WINTER SOLSTICE/MATARIKI LUNCH. The Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland Branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Extends a warm invitation to share lunch with us. Join with us for good company, good food and entertainment. We will be showing the recently made film “Tea, Scones and Nuclear Disarmament- A Tribute to Peace Activists Kit and Maynie.”

Tuesday, June 23, 7.30pm, Pacific Media Centre AUT Tower Block, Cnr Queen and Rutland Sts, Rutland Street entrance Hear: Michael Riach - OXFAM New Zealand On OXFAM’s work supporting Papuan farming and fishing communities to improve their income, access credit and learn new skills. Michael’s talk will be illustrated by recent film footage on West Papua. Also: Maire Leadbeater - IHRC On military reform in Indonesia myth or reality? Maire will report back on her attendance at an international seminartaking place in Sydney on Security Sector Reform.

Saturday, June 27, 10am-5pm, Socialist Centre, 86 Princes St, Onehunga, Auckland Invitation to: MARXISM ALIVE - Ideas to fight the crisis - OPEN TO ALL ACTIVISTS. The global economic crisis has hit New Zealand. People are losing their jobs or being forced to accept pay cuts. Mortgagee sales are on the rise. Government spending on essential public services is under threat. And economic analysts fromacross the political spectrum are predicting that worse is yet to come. A deteriorating economy, a National government facing a fiscal crisis, business clambering for policies to protect their profits, mass unemployment and other social miseries, will all combined to create a "tinderbox" political situation. How can the left in New Zealand respond? Marxism Alive, an all day educational forumhosted by Socialist Worker-New Zealand, is an opportunity to learn about the global economic crisis and to discuss what strategies the left needs to put forward to avoid the crisis being dumped on grassroots people.

SPEAKERS FROM ACROSS THE LEFT Marxism Alive will bring together speakers from across the left talking about the crucial issues facing us today. Confirmed speakers are: •Catherine Delahunty - Green Party MP; •Darien Fenton - Labour Party MP; •Te Orohi Paul - Maori Party; •Elliot Blade - RAM-Residents Action Movement; •Daphna Whitmore - Workers Party; •Sarita Divis - Alliance Party; •BronwenBeechey, David Colyer, Grant Brookes & Vaughan Gunson - Socialist Worker.

FOUR TOPICS Session 1: (starting 10am): The great implosion: Economic crisis & its impact on NZ. Speaker: Vaughan Gunson (Socialist Worker). Session 2: Is National the new natural party of government? Will Labour return to social democracy? Panel of speakers: Sarita Divis (Alliance Party), Te Orohi Paul (Maori Party), Daphna Whitmore (Workers Party), Grant Brookes (Socialist Worker). Session 3 (starting 2pm): Transitioning to a human centred economy in Aotearoa. Panel of speakers: Darien Fenton (Labour Party MP), Catherine Delahunty (Green Party MP), Elliot Blade (RAM-Residents Action Movement), David Colyer (Socialist Worker). Session 4: An International for the 21st century: building a global broad left movement. Speaker: Bronwen Beechey (Socialist Worker).

The topics and speakers will ensure a lively and stimulating day of political discussion. For analysis and opinion on the global economic crisis relevant to discussions at Marxism Alive visit http://www.unityaotearoa.blogspot.com/ There are people traveling by car from different cities in the North Island. There's the possibility of gettinga lift. Email socialist-worker@pl.net

Friday-Saturday, July 3-4, Nga Kete Wananga Marae, Manukau Institute of Technology, Otara TREATY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A Tangata Tiriti initiative open to all. Treaty in the 21st Century is a conference for people with an interest in applying the Treaty of Waitangi in the not for profit, public and private sectors, in their communities and in their own lives. It will include:•a focus on past and current work and future directions for the Treaty; •keynote presentations; •over 30 workshops; •opportunities for informal networking; - a pre-conference event is planned for 2nd July, from 7 to 9pm, details to be confirmed. Registration: you can register online at http://www.trc.org.nz/onlineregistration - please note: an additional $20 fee will be incurred for registrations received after 26 June. Call for Workshop Proposals: We invite you to submit a proposal for a participatory workshop at the conference. We’ve received some great proposals so far, if you wish to present and haven’t as yetforwarded us a proposal then please so as soon as possible - the proposal form is at http://www.trc.org.nz/workshopproposal and the final deadline for workshop proposals is Tuesday, 2 June. If you would like to talk about an idea for a workshop, please contact the conference organiser, Jen Margaret, email jen@awea.org.nz Types of workshops can include a variety of topics and approaches, such as: •how to get colleagues on board with the Treaty; •banner making; •Treaty education activities; •skills-sharing; •workshopping a learning activity; •facilitating a group discussion; •presenting a written paper; •presenting on your ownor with others. All workshop sessions are 1 hours. General information: is available at http://www.trc.org.nz/conference09

. Organised by the Treaty Resource Centre http://www.trc.org.nz and Tamaki Treaty Workers http://www.ttw.treatyeducators.org.nz - with funding support from Lotteries, COGS Manukau, COGS Auckland and the Adult and Community Education Professional Development Panel.

Monday, July 6, 7.30PM, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Road, Grey Lynn GPJA Forum: What does the super-city mean for Aucklanders? Who is driving the change and why? What does it mean for Maorirepresentation? Invited speakers will form a panel to discuss this issues. More details later.

October 7-8, Manurewa Marae NA TA TATOU ROUROU - With Our Baskets the Children Will Prosper - A hui to build activism to end child poverty in Aotearoa. For registration details see the CPAG website at www.cpag.org.nz

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me...It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, pride and superiority. The other wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity,humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too."

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied..."The one I feed."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

IMMIGRATION RIGHTS BOOK PIBLISHED Fernwood Press has just published a book which we co-authored - Fight Back: Workplace Justice for Immigrants. All royalties go to the Immigrant Workers Centre here in Montreal which has now been going for 9 years and does amazing work on very little funding. See http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/367

TIVOLI SATURDAYS @ 6 FORTNIGHTLY - DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM JUNE - AUGUST Saturday June 20, 6pm: Edward Said, The Last Interview, Part I, 90 mins, leading 20thc intellectual on intersections, politics and culture Saturday July 4, 6pm: Edward Said, The Last Interview, Part II, 90 mins Saturday July 18, 6pm: Goya, 'Crazy like a Genius', 72 mins, commentator: Robert Hughes Saturday Aug 1, 6pm: Power and Terror; Noam Chomsky in Our Times, 74 mins, interviews and public talks, with 'world's number-one public intellectual'. SUMMER PROGRAM STARTS IN NOVEMBER TIVOLI books | art | films, 2/118 Ocean View Rd, Pendragon Mall, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, PO Box 316 Oneroa, Waiheke Island, Auckland 1840 New Zealand. +64 9 372 3361; 021 175 2218; tivolinz@gmail.com www.TivoliNZ.com

TREATY CONFERENCE3 - 4 July 2009 Manukau City A Tangata Tiriti initiative open to all. We invite you and members of your community to Treaty in the 21st Century. This conference is for people with an interest in applying the Treaty of Waitangi in the not for profit, public and private sectors, in local communities and in their own lives. The focus is on past, present and future work: looking at what's been going on, what's happeningnow and what the future possibilities might be for the Treaty. The conference will include keynote presentations, over 30 workshops, and informal networking time. It will provide an opportunity to reflect, share learning, and support action on strengthening the role of the Treaty in our society. Go to http://www.trc.org.nz/conference09 for moreinformation. Go to http://www.trc.org.nz/onlineregistration for a registration form. Go to o http://www.trc.org.nz/workshopproposal for a workshop proposal form. A pre-conference event is planned for 2 July, 7 - 9pm: details to be confirmed. If you cannot access the website please contactthe conference administrator Traci Mangu,

AUCKLAND HERITAGE PEACE WALK 9.00am Sunday 27 September, QEII Square - New Zealand is the starting place for a World March for Peace and Nonviolence which will travel around the globe with stops in 90 countries, beginning with an event in Auckland, to be followed by the official launch in Wellington on 2 October. The World March was initiated by the organisation World Without Wars. The objectives of the World Marchare: •To give a voice to the majority of world citizens who want peace by having them send out a unified signal •To create global awareness of the urgent need to condemn of all forms of violence and bring about real peace •By highlighting the work of individuals and organizations around the world to end violence and promote peace, citizens who are moved to support this work will beempowered to do so. Aotearoa-New Zealand was chosen in recognition of: •The nonviolence traditions of Moriori and Parihaka •Being the first country to grant women the vote •Being the only country to have a Minister for Disarmament •Our inclusion of peace studies in the school curriculum and the establishment of Peace Cities •Our moves towards peaceful resolution of pastinjustices to Tangata Whenua and other ethnic communities •Our nuclear-free status •Our government’s support for the UN. The Auckland Heritage Peace Walk Launch is Auckland’s welcome to the international participants in the World March. The walk will visit various peace landmarks around the central city, ending at St Matthew-in-the-City with performances, exhibits, music and speakers. Sites on the walk include: • RainbowWarrior mural, Marsden Wharf • The Peace Place, Emily Place • Memorial - Tiananmen Square Massacre , Maclaurin Chapel, Princes St, • Albert Park - the band rotunda • Gateway sculpture, Victoria St • Suffragette mural, Khartoum Place. Local individuals and groups have endorsed the World March including: Helen Clark, Jim Anderton, Jacinda Ardern, Phil Goff, Phil Twyford, Sir Paul Reeves, KerryPrendergast, Dr Kate Dewes, Marion Hancock, Kevin Clements, Pauline Tangiora, Moana Manipoto, Yulia, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Disarmament and Security Centre, The Peace Foundation, Oxfam, United Nations Association of NZ. We are seeking further endorsements as well as participation in the Auckland Heritage Peace Wal.
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