This report on the Wellington Peoples’ Centre, by Ian Anderson, will be published in the June Spark. Sue Bradford, who helped set up the Peoples’ Centres, will be speaking on unemployed and beneficiary fightback at our Socialism 2012 conference.

After 20 years of support for unemployed and low-income workers, the Wellington Peoples’ Centre (WPC) closed its doors on the 28th of April 2012. However most services continue to operate independently, and by decision of the membership the WPC remains as a legal entity.

Background: by the people, for the people
Peoples’ Centres first formed in the early ’90s, out of the radical unemployed workers’ movement. In an interview for the April Spark Sue Bradford explained, “This was partly because things were getting tougher, and partly because having a paid membership base made our work with unemployed workers more effective. Peoples’ Centres provided services, including hair-dressing and medical services.”

The WPC itself formed out of the Wellington Community Law Centre, Wellington Unemployed Workers Union, DPB Action and Downtown Community Ministry in 1992. The only centre to last for two decades, by early 2012 the WPC provided cheap dentistry, counselling, Social English classes, Workers’ Rights advice and benefit rights advocacy.

Isolation of the Wellington Peoples’ Centre
In recent years the WPC has become isolated. In the late ’80s and early ’90s the unemployed movement was galvanised by large-scale redundancies, however with the near-destruction of the left & organised labour movement this ultimately waned. The movement’s retreat undermined the membership base of people’s centres across the country.

Most WPC services, while necessary, were not profitable. Given the unprofitability and fluctuating paid membership base, services became dependent on diminishing grants funding. Ultimately the centre was unable to meet its rent obligations, and was evicted.

Services continue in new forms
Each of the services has had to find a new home. Given its cashflow issues the WPC was already restructuring prior to the eviction, but the eviction demanded far more drastic changes.

The management committee consulted with membership on how to restructure services. A well-attended Special General Meeting on Wednesday the 28th of March saw discussion of priorities, and some amendments to remits proposed by the management committee. The membership overwhelmingly passed motions that the WPC continue as an incorporated society, and that the management committee seek to sell the dental service to an appropriate like-minded organisation.

The dental service could only continue in its location under new ownership, but the membership sought to ensure it remain low-cost. By selling to the highest buyer, the WPC would sacrifice the lowest cost dental service in the region: 80% of dental services in Wellington are owned by the corporation Lumino, which sets targets incompatible with maintaining a low cost service. Staff are aiming to set the practice up as an independent trust.

Other services such as benefit advocacy and worker’s rights advice have found new homes in the community. Details for these can be found at wellingtonpeoplescentre.org.nz

The WPC retains a membership base, a website and a bank account. By maintaining the existence of the Peoples’ Centre as an incorporated society, the membership is leaving the door open for future developments.

4:30pm Saturday, June 2nd
Newtown Community and Cultural Centre

10pm Friday June 1st
Bodega, Wellington

Photo credit: Emily Haskell.

Kassie Hartendorp is a member of the Workers Party, and delivered this speech as a part of Queer The Night 2012. The Workers Party will be holding a talk on queer liberation and socialism as part of our Socialism 2012 conference.

Kia ora whanau,

My name is Kassie and I work for School’s Out, a queer youth organisation, and I am also a member of the Queer Avengers . I’m here speaking to you today, because I want to really drive home that the experiences of the youth up here tonight are not isolated cases.

The whole reason that queer youth support organisations exist is due to the fact that our schools, our families and our communities are not always safe places to come out as a queer or questioning teenager. Our entire existence is based on the fact that so many of our youth and adults, are still unaccepted, marginalised, or treated as second class to heterosexual or cis-gender people.

As a youth worker, I see many of the younger generations coming through with a confidence that even I, as a 22 year old find absolutely inspirational. When I was young, even going to a queer group was too terrifying for me, let alone starting a Queer Straight Alliance, or standing up at a march in front of so many people.

But there are some who haven’t quite reached that confidence yet, or have to go through hell to get there. I’m talking about the youth that do experience verbal or physical abuse for being or just appearing queer, or who get forced or kicked out of their homes with nowhere to go. I’m talking about the youth who turn to self-harm, or drugs and alcohol to cope. I’m also talking about the youth who have to go through the very basic fear of coming out to those they don’t know, and more scarily, the ones they do know. I’m talking about those who leave school because of bullying or unacceptance, and I’m talking about the ones who take their own lives.

Now these are big issues we’re dealing with. Big issues that require a lot of a support, right? And these are only with the youth that feel confident or are connected enough to be able to reach us in the first place. We don’t know how many slip under the radar, as family secrets, isolated and unsupported.

Now, many of our schools won’t let School’s Out in to try and create environments that accept and affirm queer identities. It’s funny, they tell us they have no gays here. That’s just bad math. Statistically, you’re gonna have queers present, but you have created an environment where not one feels safe enough to express their sexuality. But at the moment, no one is holding these schools to account.

Members of School’s Out went to meet with local gay MP, Grant Robertson last year to discuss the issue of homelessness in queer youth, which has taken a sharp increase not just here, but in Auckland as well, over the past year. After asking advice on how to find emergency housing from a parliamentary representative and fellow queer, we were told that there was nothing he could do or that we could do. He then referred us on to a known transphobic service where we were abruptly sent away.

The Queer Avengers also had a meeting with senior advisers from the Ministry of Education, where those on the other side of the table, told us that they didn’t have the powers, or rather, the motivation to make our schools safer places. They can’t tell schools what to do, they say. But they are more than willing to bully schools around when it comes to national standards, they’re just not willing to do anything when queer youth are taking their own lives. They say “it’s just the system.” Well we’re here to say, your system isn’t fucking working.

You know, we shouldn’t have to be fighting these fights, we shouldn’t have to be watching youth go through the hardest time in their lives as a queer, when it should be a time when they are learning who they are, growing and developing in a positive way that affirms their identities. It’s not too much to ask, and maybe we wouldn’t be asking it, if we had those in power accepting that we need to have the resources to get up there on that damn cliff, miles before the edge, with some warmth, understanding and acceptance, rather than standing at the bottom waiting for them to all drop off one by one, hoping to hell that you’re there in time to cushion their fall. And more often, you’re not.

Now all that we have had to rely on, over the decades, is each other. The responsibility for looking after ourselves is mostly done through our communities together. We can’t rely on a broken system, that even if it got its act together and stopped cutting important social services, and putting through bills like the 90 Day Hire and Fire Bill which all have a negative impact on our most vulnerable; it would still be fundamentally broken at the end of the day. We have queer MPs in the House, we’ve had legislation like the Homosexual Law Reform Act: WHY ARE WE STILL HERE TODAY?

We need a two-tier movement that yes, works in Parliament, but also is on the ground, demanding for more than the meagre hand we have been dealt. We need strong queer groups, and solid straight alliances. Furthermore, we need to support and give solidarity to women’s groups, Maori groups, Pasifika groups, Asian groups, unions, groups spread across the community that understand oppression, because we can’t do this on our own.

Lastly, I wanna tautoko all the volunteers for places like School’s Out, Tranzform and other queer organisations across the country. I wanna thank the Gay Wellington Welfare Group and the wider queer community for its continuous support in helping us out. I wanna thank the organisers for not being afraid to get out there and say what needs to be said, and all of you for coming here tonight in support. It makes me feel like I know, that with a bit of work, things are gonna get better.

The Queer Avengers are a Wellington group fighting all forms of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. This leaflet will be circulated on their second annual “Queer The Night” event tonight.

In 2011, after a series of queer-bashings in Wellington, hundreds of people from the community came together to reclaim the streets, to paint the town pink & purple, to Queer The Night. Out of this march, the Queer Avengers formed.

This is the second annual Queer The Night march. This time we’re particularly supporting Pink Shirt Day  on the 18th of May, and more generally opposing all homophobia and transphobia.

We’re out here in solidarity with all kids facing this oppression.

School bullying is one of the many ways that people are forced into the closet. A range of spaces; bars, streets, schools; are policed to ensure that gender and sexual expression remain within certain boundaries.

20 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth attempt suicide – compared with 4 per cent of straight youth.

There is very little statistical information on the problems affecting trans youth in NZ schools. However a recent US study, “Childhood Gender Nonconformity Linked To Higher Abuse Risk” (Roberts et al, 2012) found something the trans and gender variant community know perfectly well: young people who do not conform to gender norms are targeted for abuse, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.

We’re here to say that consent, and self-determination, must be the bottom-line for gender and sexual expression. We oppose all barriers to queer and trans expression; legal, economic, social.

What is Pink Shirt Day?

Pink Shirt Day began in Nova Scotia, to support a young boy targeted for homophobic bullying for wearing a pink shirt. Around the world people continue to oppose homophobic and transphobic bullying by wearing pink shirts en masse. Show your support and wear pink on May 18th.

We support the formation of Queer-Straight Alliances in all schools. We support education on gender and sex. We demand the recognition of all sexual orientations and identities.

Sometimes it’s denial of medical treatment, or denial of chosen names. Sometimes it’s fists and bottles. There are many tools used against us, direct and indirect. We’re here to say that in schools, and everywhere else, it doesn’t get better until we make it better.

Queer The Night departs from Waitangi Park, 7pm on Friday May 11th

Leaflet pdf

As part of our Socialism 2012 conference, the Workers Party will be holding a session on “safer spaces in the left,” concerning how to make left groups welcoming and inclusive. This will be facilitated by Kassie Hartendorp at 11am Saturday the 2nd of June, Newtown Community Centre.

 Still supporting the movement

How do you know they left the Occupy Movement to even start asking the question? Has there been some kind of research done? Occupy Auckland was, after all, in the CBD, so naturally it comes with the regular experiences that come with transients and those who drink and take drugs in and around the city, I had one frightening experience one particular night I was there, but it didn’t stop me supporting the Movement or going back, sleeping in the middle of the city poses its risks, irrespective of whether a person in an occupier or not, it’s all just part and parcel of sleeping rough, though I admit, the safer spaces policy did kind of go out the door during the latter part of the occupation.

-Alison Withers 

Empowerment at Occupy

Occupy has been an interesting experience, it is the first time I’ve really noticed the effect of interpersonal issues, in addition to structural constraints, in marginalising people and deterring them from involvement in activism. I think it’s important to recognise that. Despite campsite issues that have caused many women to be excluded, the Occupy movement is not over in New Zealand, particularly in Christchurch where we still have a large committed group (of mainly men) organising actions. Moving forward, we need to be conscious of ensuring women can speak at meetings (this means men watching they don’t go off on ten tangents when it’s their turn to speak), addressing the structural barriers to women’s involvement such as organising meetings for times and venues that accommodate people with children and being open to organise around issues that specifically effect women. As someone who was politically involved for several years before October last year [when the global Occupy movement reached New Zealand], it was the initial culture of support and mutual learning at Occupy which made me feel comfortable speaking and leading chants at demonstrations, where I’d previously made the cups of tea and not said a lot even at small meetings. We shouldn’t forget the empowerment some women have experienced through Occupy, particularly during the early days, and we shouldn’t give up trying to reverse the trend of women becoming less involved in activism.

-Kelly Pope

Invisible women & dishes fairies

Women are more likely to work erratic hours, more likely to be poor, more likely to be supporting family members from children to the elderly, more likely to be limited for transport and time. Women of my age are often sandwiched between children and parents. We are often tired.

Women in Occupy Christchurch/Otautahi found themselves cast in traditional roles. This was fine for me because i expected that, it was a role I sought. But it was really frustrating for those who were on site more. The dishes fairy just happened to be female. No women, no dishes. Men moaning about no dishes, still unaware of who the dishes fairy actually was.

Sustained protest requires emotional energy. Women are often already involved in ‘emotional work’. I am an obvious example as a social worker where every day i work with distressed, angry, frightened people. But you do emotional work if you do retail, or call centre, or many of the usual female workforce roles. And that’s even before you look at the emotional work of parenting or caring for relatives. Occupy could have been fine for women, because it was always something you could dip in and out of, unlike major strike action for example, but in a way it was harder to dip in and out of Occupy because so much could be missed. One GA could overturn everything that was done at a previous GA, for example.

People left Occupy, not just women. Men may or may not have left for similar reasons.

GA’s weren’t always friendly to the way women often operate. The last GA [at the time of writing] I was the only woman there for much of it. When we are in such a minority we become ‘othered’ and that is nobody’s fault. But to attend to it properly takes conscious effort on the part of the majority.

I think in meetings there are content/outcome thinkers and process thinkers. Women traditionally attend more to process. I ask – how do we combine or tease apart or summarise ideas? How do we ensure everyone is comfortable? What can i do to help? Whereas men like to lecture and opine. Of the people who have come specifically to promulgate an idea, they have all been men. Last GA reminded me of preschoolers engaging in parallel play. It looks like conversation because they are taking turns, but really they are parallel monologues. A good form of consultation is like making a soup – we all bring ingredients, chuck them in, and the result is something different from any individual contribution, maybe something quite unexpected. But to make the group soup we need to leave our egos in the fridge.

The women’s meeting [organised for women involved in Occupy Christchurch] was very comfortable for us, i think, because there are unspoken understandings about how we do things. We ate a lot, laughed a bit, watched relevant videos, shared experiences. Business and fun segued into each other. If there had been a man present it would have changed things. Not necessarily for the worse, but there would have been an extra dynamic to be accounted for. It may have been hard for the man. Now imagine that from the female point of view at an otherwise all male GA. Because there are unspoken understandings about how men do things….except, i believe, women study men’s ways of working far more than vice versa. We have to. Just as servants study their masters and employees study their bosses.

I want to say something as an older woman. Older women in our society are invisible to men. Usually i am quite happy about this because being invisible i can do what i damn well like. It’s one reason i can walk home in the middle of the night, and why i never felt particularly unsafe at the camp site. I can be a really invisible dishes fairy! However, if i am the only woman at a GA i am doubly invisible. I think quite hard about what I want to say in meetings. I am not particularly nimble intellectually, and i need a bit of a run up to arrive at anything useful. And i need to be useful, I say to myself do good or go home. i have shitloads of other stuff to do and responsibilities, like any 52 year old woman. When i have talked about Occupy to the women in know who are my age, it just seems irrelevant to them. Why would i hang out in the park with a bunch of losers? And it was hard to answer that, because i have been thinking about Occupy related issues for decades and often i don’t know where to start.

-Karen Austin

Ian Anderson

The Aotearoa is Not For Sale hikoi departed from Cape Reinga on April the 23rd and reached parliament on May the 4th. This march demonstrated that tangata whenua are at the forefront of struggle against privatisation, expressed widespread opposition to asset sales, and raised questions of how to move forward.

Broad kaupapa
The kaupapa was broad, and contested. Thousands were united by opposition to National’s plans of selling 49% of state-owned assets to private companies. Other issues of corporate and ‘foreign’ ownership included the AFFCO meat-works lockout, offshore drilling and the Crafar Farms sale.

In an article for Scoop, Anti-capitalism must feature at hikoi against asset sales, Valerie Morse argued the focus should be on capitalist ownership rather than foreign ownership: “A number of very well known ‘kiwi’ brands equally well meet the definition of a multinational corporation… The fight shouldn’t be about domestic or foreign ownership; the fight should be about ownership full stop.”

The International Socialist Organisation (ISO) published an article by Dougal McNeill, underlining the importance of anti-capitalism in the Crafar Farms controversy. McNeill noted that “Plenty of major New Zealand capitalists, from Fonterra to Cater Holt Harvey, invest profits abroad already… Profit goes towards the pursuit of more profit, to the expansion of business production.”

ISO’s article underlined how Michael Fay, potential Kiwi owner of Crafar Farms, had profited from deregulation and privatisation – and how ‘Kiwi’ capitalists play just as much of a role in dispossessing tangata whenua. Finally, the article pointed out how rhetoric opposing Chinese ownership taps into the ugly history of anti-Chinese racism in this country.

Tino rangatiratanga was a key concept driving the hikoi. Popular Ngai Tahu blogger Kim Mcbreen posted an article on why she was participating: “To me, colonialism is the fundamental issue, and capitalism is just a part of that.”

Cape Reinga to parliament: thousands of supporters
The hikoi drew in important layers of nationwide support, while media coverage focused mainly on Auckland and Wellington. The march from Auckland’s Britomart attracted estimates of 8,000 supporters, while Wellington’s march on parliament attracted around 5,000.

Iwi gave the hikoi its back-bone, from Cape Reinga Southwards. Unions were also visible, with locked out AFFCO workers forming a significant contingent. The hikoi was endorsed by all the parliamentary opposition parties, and MANA formed a substantial bulk of the organisation and participation. Far-left groups also supported the hikoi, including Socialist Aotearoa, the Workers Party and the International Socialist Organisation.

In Wellington, student group We Are The University organised a feed-in march from Victoria University. Promoted through lecture-speaking, posters and Facebook, the march attracted around 150 students under the slogan “VUW is Not For Sale.” Speakers from the student body opposed the corporatisation of education, and attacks on student access to financial support.

After marching down from Victoria University, students joined the main hikoi on Willis Street. Emboldened by the sight of the hikoi, chants rose in volume including “Who are we? The university!”, “You do a degree, what do you get? Debt! Debt! Debt! Debt!” and 
“Hey John Key, you’ve got mail, Aotearoa is not for sale.”

Rally on parliament steps
When the hikoi converged on parliament grounds, Maori wardens were out in force. One activist climbed onto the statue of Richard Seddon to erect two flags: the Confederation of United Tribes independence flag, and a tino rangatiratanga flag. The march surged past the regulation crowd-barriers and up parliament steps, before stopping for speakers.

Hikoi organiser Mike Smith spoke first. Opposition MPs aroused cheers from the crowd, and MANA leader Hone Harawira led a chant. Maori Party speaker Te Uroroa Flavell received boos and heckling for supporting the coalition government.

Te Whanau a Apinara anti-fracking activist Dayle Takitimu incited cheers by declaring, “Now is the time to rise up, because we are the people who are fighting for the people.” An AFFCO worker delivered a speech largely in te reo, stating that Talley’s AFFCO are trying to drive down wages; it’s worth noting here that the company is NZ-owned. Workers Party member Joel Cosgrove provided the megaphone and spoke near the end, on the need to oppose capitalist ownership.

Workers Party members also brought a banner and leaflets stating, “Aotearoa is Not For Sale – to local or foreign capitalists.”

What next
Clear widespread opposition to asset sales appears to have no impact on the government’s plans. Confronted by media John Key laughed the hikoi off, saying that in light of the governments’ perceived mandate, a few thousand people marching would not change his mind. However, given that 75% of the general population (and 88% of Maori) oppose asset sales, Key’s statements come off as arrogant.

With all of the opposition parties involved, a parliamentary strategy is playing out. Some activists are aiming to undermine the government’s parliamentary majority, with long time Ohariu-Belmont MP Peter Dunne seen as a weak link. A range of groups including the Council of Trade Unions, Labour and the Greens have also co-sponsored a petition for a Citizens Initiated Referendum.

However, many remain alienated from the parliamentary system. Last year, 1 in 4 youth were not enrolled to vote. The general election saw the lowest turnout since women won the right to vote, with around one million staying home. We must ask why, given the widespread opposition to asset sales, it is so hard to mobilise voters.

A Labour-led government remains the most immediate alternative to a National-led government. However it’s important to remember that the Fourth Labour government introduced the current “State Owned Enterprises” model, which began to run state owned enterprises (SOEs) on the model of private corporations rather than public services. Many of these SOEs were privatised by the National government in the 1990s. While Helen Clark’s Labour government brought back shares in some assets including Air New Zealand (essentially a state bail out of a private corporation) there was no change away from the SOE model toward a public service model. It is understandable that so many are not inspired to vote.

While the campaign against asset sales needs a parliamentary component to stop the proposed reforms, in the long term we will need to build an alternative to the Labour Party, based on mass self-organisation. Workers in those industries that are up for privatisation, such as electricity, could make a significant impact through direct action. We must support, build on and unite ongoing struggles against corporate dominance.

From left: youth from a locked out AFFCO family, Gareth of Mighty River People’s Power, and Becky Broad from the Workers Party.

On March 25th the last tent came down at Occupy Christchurch, the only remaining Occupy protest in the country. It would be a mistake to think that the end of these camps means the end of the movement in New Zealand.

Auckland
In the United States and other northern hemisphere nations the “99%” is regrouping and gearing up towards a general strike on May 1st. Closer to home Occupy Brisbane is regrouping and taking space again in the face of their city administrators. Here in Auckland and across the country we are gearing up for the next spate of purges on the workers, the poor and our environment. April 28th was a day of action against Asset Sales, The TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and Off shore oil drilling. The day was the beginning of the ‘Aotearoa not for Sale’ Hikoi. Occupy Auckland participated, bolstered by enthusiasm from watching the “Occupy Spring” taking place in North America.

We joined the fight in support of the future dispossessed residents of Glenn Innes as the demolition of state housing strips people of what have in some cases been homes for generations and pushes the poor further away from amenities and job opportunities in Auckland.

Wellington
Occupy Wellington ran through three phases, the first lasting three weeks involved the initial creation of Occupy in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, the attitude of the mainstream news was an attempt at ignoring it’s existence, the next six weeks was a forced respect and reporting of Occupy. The third period’s end was undefined, with people slowly leaving and the attitude of the media being what new angle they could make fun of Occupy from.

A big theoretical and practical divide within Occupy was whether Occupy was the physical occupation or a network of people. The physical camp was broken up on the 31st of January. One small group of people attempted to carry on the name as if nothing had happened, taking in none of the experiences.

A large number of people who were involved in Occupy have helped set up 19 Tory St, an open-source venue space for music, film and political events. They recently held a fundraiser for the Kia Ora Gaza project, as well as documentary screenings. The group that has formed around 19 is attempting to grapple with the experiences/lessons of Occupy. Another group of people are involved in organising the Aotearoa Not For Sale hikoi.

A wider number are still trying to make sense of the lessons of Occupy, people are still meeting and networking. The key question that is going back and forwards right now, is how can things move forward even if not under the name ‘Occupy Wellington’.

Christchurch
Occupy Christchurch has moved indoors and is now holding regular general assemblies at the Workers Educational Association (WEA). The group is continuing with the ‘Open Air University’ a day of free workshops which have covered issues like capitalism, feminism, the Arab Spring, mental heath and a whole lot more.

Occupy Christchurch will be participating in the Canterbrians Unite demonstration on May 6th. This demonstration is calling for the resignation of City Council CEO Tony Marryot, mid-term local elections and increased availability of housing. Housing remains an enormous issue in the city as the earthquake has left many people unable to afford rents- current market rates for a garage are $150 a week. Further actions around housing, involving the many no-fixed-abode participants who are still involved despite the absence of the camp, are in the planning stages.

A ‘Women of Occupy’ group has also started, to address issues specific to women in the movement and in wider society.

Dunedin
Like Christchurch Dunedin continues to have general assemblies. The group has launched a fortnightly radio show ‘Occupy the Air Waves’ (you can listen to the first episode and subscribe to the podcast at http://bit.ly/HXbE8a Dunedin readers can tune in every second Tuesday at 6pm on Otago Access Radio 105.4fm).

The group will participate in a protest against oil drilling in the Octagon and initiatives around community gardens are also happening.