Maranga Ake - Fight Back Together

Standing up against this government's attacks on workers and Māori.

My newsletter took a bit longer than I thought yesterday. I sent it at 11 am, and the protest was starting in the city at midday. Bollocks, I can still make it, I thought. I kissed the dog goodbye, gave Mrs Rockel a pat on the head and headed out by 11:15. Hmm, that’s not quite right - I was in a rush.

Sometimes, we see real estate adverts for Te Atatu, where we live, claiming it’s only 20 minutes from the city. Oh, how we laugh. Maybe it is in the middle of the night. If anything goes wrong on the roading network, it can take that long just to reach the motorway. It’s 45 minutes at commuting times, worse on a bad day.

Sure enough, though, I walked into Aotea Square 20 minutes after I left the house. There were even loads of spaces in the civic centre car park - damn, maybe this downturn is worse than I thought.

Emerging into the square, it was loud, vibrant, and raining ugh. The crowd was sparse compared to other protests, but I hadn’t appreciated that many people were arriving on buses. Union members operating on a tight schedule marched in waving the flags of their various unions and quickly disappeared afterwards to get back to work.

The standard cries of rent-a-crowd that are often used to portray those protesting rang especially hollow. These aren’t the permanent protesters of Brook van Velden’s imagination; they are hard-working people standing up for their rights with an eye on the clock to return to their jobs.

It’s easy not to see these people. I spent far too many years working in the CBD in shiny offices with people in suits who were earning a lot of money. These people came at night, the magic pixies who cleaned the office and made everything nice.

I’ve always been an early starter, usually in the office by 7:30 am. Sometimes, they would still be going, always super friendly and almost apologetic at being there simultaneously. Think about that - friendly and conscientious while cleaning someone else’s mess through the night - and all for the lowest wages.

Union songs rang out across the square. Standing in the rain, it felt a bit like being at a rock concert - waiting stoically. A Billy Bragg song came on, and I smiled no matter the weather. In fact, our old mate Billy chased that rain right away; it was grey and overcast but dry - it suited the mood.

There were smiles and laughs but a grim determination, too. We were there because it’s really fucked up what is happening to this country, especially to some of those who work the hardest for the least.

People have the Power by Patti Smith rang out:

Then we were off. Rachel Mackintosh from E tū spoke first, speaking te Reo beautifully. She said that Fair Pay Agreements, which this government has axed, gave people better lives.

She spoke of health and safety, workers' rights, the treaty, and all the things this government has been doing to attack workers in this country. Rachel said five motions would be put to the crowd, and we would reply with “stand up, fight back” to pass them.

We tried a few “stand-up, fight-backs” to practice, and people seemed pretty keen on fighting back.

Motion #1 was the right to good work. People just want to be paid fairly and with safe conditions to provide for their families. It’s not much to ask, right?

Motion #2 was on social services, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Motion #3 was on standing up for the Tiriti.

The speaker said governments are there to look after all people, not divide and profit from some. She was nervous, not realising how strongly she was speaking. There was such a wave of positive support for her even as she struggled a bit with notes. I apologise for not catching her name.

“Last but not least, don’t clap yet” she joked. Her voice was so powerful, and I loved that she was wearing track pants and work boots. Motion #3 was carried - loudly.

Next up was Jade from the Nurses Organisation, who demanded reduced inequality, a living wage, and a tax system that everyone contributes to fairly. The crowd was getting loud.

Jade was an excellent speaker who spoke of the large disparities in pay for women, Maori, and Pasifika. She asked, “Does our work not count?” My apologies again. While listening, I didn’t write down motion #4, but I assume it was about equality.

Motion #5 was from the president of E tū and demanded action on AI and climate change, both huge challenges for workers and everyone in Aotearoa. He said, “We will not stand idle while this idiotic government does.”

I spotted a few people in the crowd, including Michael Wood, whom I’d just finished writing about in yesterday’s newsletter. Paul, the other one—if you know who that is—was there, like me, taking photos.

What really made my day, though, were the readers who came up to say hi and express their appreciation for the writing. They were just lovely, and it was so nice to meet you folks—it made it feel like our wee community was represented there, too.

There was mention of the eleven other events taking place around the country. I could see friends posting from around the motu, especially in Wellington, where the turnout looked enormous. Here are some photos from around the country, not by me like the others above. So many good people are getting out there and saying this is not okay.

In response to the protest, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden said, “The government reforms would help, not hinder, workers and access to job opportunities.”

What a complete joke. I’m unsure who she thinks she is convincing; I can’t imagine any of the ten thousand-plus people who protested around the country yesterday agreed.

It’s been quite a week for the government regarding how they see workers.

Last night on the news, the Andrew Bayly saga rolled on with shifting stories. Had he been drinking or not? Yes and No, depending on whether you’re the PM or Mr Bayly. Chris Bishop, twice, had to go to the seats up the back to check the facts during questioning. Or if you were a little more cynical than 1 News - agree on the facts.

The big revelation in the news article was that the worker at the heart of the story was not some leftie plant with an axe to grind—they were ex-military. Bam! That just took things up a notch; I can’t imagine many Kiwis being excited about Mr Bayly lambasting someone who has served this country in the NZDF as a loser.

The worker wrote: “I did not dedicate five years of my life to the NZDF, only to be belittled by an ambassador of the very government I served. I have been part of the repatriation of fallen soldiers being brought back from South Korea. I have been a part of, and led, cultural ceremonies for the Royal Family's visits to New Zealand and other dignitaries — all of which require a form of etiquette severely lacking in Andrew Bayly."

Even those who have little concern over workplace bullying will surely blanch at seeing someone like this so insulted by a Minister in our government. Luxon must know how weak he looks. Surely, if anything further comes out, Bayly is toast.

Chris Hipkins gave a fabulous speech about it; you can watch the whole thing on Facebook here, or part of it is included in this news report on the whole sorry state of affairs from 1 News:

Here is a snippet of what Chippy said; I know a lot of folks don’t click on links:

Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition): In the last few weeks New Zealanders have got real insight into what this Government actually thinks about working New Zealanders. They think it's OK for a Government Minister to enter somebody's workplace to mock them in front of their employer, to call them a loser, and to harass them when they will not agree to go drinking with that Government Minister. And not only does the Government think that that's OK, they're not even willing to investigate properly what happened. The Prime Minister unable to answer basic questions about what happened, why it happened, and why the Government thought that it was funny.

If you’d like to read the whole of Chippy’s speech, and it was an absolute belter, you can do that here.

Have a fabulous day, all of you lovely lefties and fair-minded other folks.

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