Socialist Aotearoa (also known as SA and Socialist – People Before Profit) is a

revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolu ...

organisation based in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. SA formed as a split from

Socialist Worker ''Socialist Worker'' is the name of several newspapers currently or formerly associated with the International Socialist Tendency (IST). It is a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the United Kingdom since 1968, a ...

in 2008. They are based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and are part of the

International Socialist Tendency The International Socialist Tendency (IST) is an Political international, international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations espousing the ideas of Tony Cliff (1917–2000), founder of the Socialist Workers Party (UK), Socialist Wor ...

. Joe Carolan, a

Unite Union Unite Union (Unite) is a trade union in New Zealand. It represents a number of workers across various industries, and was the sponsor of the campaign directed towards improving working conditions for fast food workers in the country, in addit ...

employee and former

Mana party The Mana Movement, originally known as the Mana Party, was a political party in New Zealand. The party was led by Hone Harawira who formed it in April 2011 following his resignation from the Māori Party. Harawira won the by-election in Te Tai ...

candidate, is a co-founder and the current Campaigns Officer. SA has been involved since its inception in organising and participating in campaigns against privatisation, corporate globalisation, racism and war. These campaigns have ranged from Aotearoa Not For Sale to Love Aotearoa Hate Racism, to the movement against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

Principles and policies

Socialist Aotearoa ratified the statement of its principles titled 'Five Fingers for a Fist' at their foundation hui on 10 May 2008. It is currently published on their website. The document is an allusion to their five key principles: 1. ''One Solution, Revolution'', 2. ''Workers of the World, Unite'', 3. ''Equality For All'', 4. ''United Fronts'', and 5. ''For a Rank and File Network Within the Trade Union Movement''. Their first principle emphasizes that 'Socialist Aotearoa is a revolutionary, socialist, anti capitalist group', claiming to fight for systemic change. Socialist Aotearoa advocate for a '

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

movement', explained in detail in their fifth principle. The party also claims to be an international group that strongly opposes "

imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...

" wars and occupations, as detailed in their second principle. They have demanded withdrawal of New Zealand troops from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

and (when New Zealand had troops there) from Afghanistan. Furthermore, the party holds strong pro-immigration, pro-refugee and

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

stances. Their third principle states that they 'oppose all oppressions based on race, gender, sexuality and religion'.

Mt. Albert by-election

In 2016, Joe Carolan announced his intention to stand in the

2017 Mount Albert by-election The 2017 Mount Albert by-election was a New Zealand by-election held in the electorate on 25 February 2017 during the 51st New Zealand Parliament. The seat was vacated following the resignation of David Shearer, a former Leader of the New Zeal ...

. Carolan gave his party as ''Socialist – People Before Profit'' on the ballot paper. Carolan received 189 votes, or 1.4%, in the context of low voter turnout, as the incumbent National Party did not stand in the election. SA's platform in the by-election included: * Making the minimum wage a living wage of $20 * Rent controls, the building of 100,000 state houses, and a tax on empty homes * Making transport and education free * A "liveable" universal basic income * Abolishing the

Goods and Services Tax In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone.Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Scientific. Online version: Deardorffs' Gl ...

(GST) * A "Robin Hood Tax" of 1% on all financial transactions * Rejecting the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) * Stopping the deportation of the eleven Indian students who had been victims of a fraudulent tertiary education provider. SA members had been helping lead the campaign to keep these students in the country.

References

External links

Socialist Aotearoa
{{New Zealand political parties Communist parties in New Zealand International Socialist Tendency Trotskyist organisations in New Zealand 2008 establishments in New Zealand Political parties established in 2008

Principles and policies

Mt. Albert by-election

See also

References

External links