Budget protesters threaten RWC disruption

A public rally along Queen St on Saturday drew hundreds of Aucklanders who protested against the Government’s recent budget – and flagged upcoming trouble during the Rugby World Cup.
With his Unite flag and microphone in hand, stalwart activist John Minto led the protesters from Queen Elizabeth II Square at Britomart towards Aotea Square.
They paused in [...]

Campaigning ban behind the shelving of Harawira’s talk, says uni

Hone Harawira and the University of Auckland are at odds over why his scheduled talk at the university campus was cancelled last week.
The Mana Party leader has accused “Pakeha rednecks” and “racists” for forcing his talk from the law faculty and on to the university’s Waipapa Marae.
But the university has since denied the issue was [...]

Budget cuts violate human rights of older students, say Greens

The Government risks breaching human rights laws if it follows through with canning student loans for over 55s, according to the Green Party.
New cuts proposed in this week’s budget will mean students over 55 can’t borrow money for living costs while studying.
Green Party tertiary education spokesman Gareth Hughes says the proposal could be illegal under [...]

Harawira takes aim at ‘rednecks’ in AUT expo debate

Hone Harawira took aim at “Pakeha rednecks” – as well as Pita Sharples and the Maori Party – at the AUT Maori Expo Debate at Vector Arena this week.
The Mana Party leader, who has just resigned from Parliament to force a by-election in his Maori Party seat of Te Tai Tokerau, said that “racists” were [...]

AUT under investigation by Ministry of Education

AUT University may have breached Ministry of Education rules as well as immigration requirements by allowing Chinese student Mengna Wang to study without a student permit.
The NZ Herald reported that Wang was allowed to study at AUT for two years without a permit, while the university collected about $40,000 in fees from her.
As a signatory [...]

Development warning for Auckland from US professor of anarchy

A visiting anarchist academic from the USA says Auckland is at just as great a risk as his home country of suffering the negative effects of over-development.
Professor Ron Sakolsky addressed a small crowd of 30 on Thursday, April 7 at the Cityside Church on Mt Eden Rd.
He told his story as an anarchist, unionist, anti-coal [...]

90-day trial scheme dumps 23 per cent of new workers

Rachel* was proud of her self taught administration and accounting skills. At 52, she had been in her last job for 30 years and had always been well liked by her bosses and co-workers.

That’s why it came as a shock when she was fired 14 days after starting a new job.

Academics at odds over indigenous rights declaration

Academic opinion appears divided over the practical implications of New Zealand’s recent signing of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Among other things, the declaration recognises the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination, and traditionally owned lands.
When the declaration was adopted by the United Nations in 2007, New [...]

Sallies oppose DPB changes as recession really bites

The Government’s proposed changes to the domestic purpose benefit do not take into account the current economic recession and are a step in the wrong direction, says the Salvation Army.
The changes are part of Future Focus, a raft of reforms – including changes to the sickness, invalid and unemployment benefits – that aims to break [...]

Act’s three-strikes law the ‘most ridiculous’ NZ has passed

The new three-strikes law is “the most ridiculous law passed by a New Zealand parliament”, according to one of New Zealand’s leading criminologists.
Under the law a third conviction would mean the offender received the maximum sentence for that crime – with no possibility of parole – unless this was judged to be “manifestly unjust”.
The law [...]