Workers Party of New Zealand
Encyclopedia
The Workers Party of New Zealand (previously known as the Anti-Capitalist Alliance) was a socialist/communist
political party in New Zealand
. It publishes a monthly magazine called "The Spark".
Its current National Organiser and Secretary is Rebecca Broad.
The five-point policy platform of the Workers Party is as follows:
The party's magazine The Spark states that the party wants: "A world without poverty and war, a world of material abundance where human potential can be expressed in full," adding that "While these ideas appear untenable today, they were the notions that inspired revolutions in the 20th century."
, Marxist-Leninist
) and the pro-Trotsky
Revolution group, with the intention of fielding candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election. The party was unregistered, and so could not contest the party vote in New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional electoral system.
In 2004, the original Workers' Party and Revolution merged to become the Revolutionary Workers' League (RWL), which describes itself as a "Marxist current".
Recently, publications formerly published by the RWL became Workers' Party publications.
, the Anti-Capitalist Alliance stood four candidates, the highest number for an unregistered party that year. The candidates gained a total of 336 votes between them, placing the party in fourth place amongst the unregistered parties which contested.
In the 2005 election
the ACA stood eight candidates, again the highest number for an unregistered party. The ACA won a combined total of 582 votes, placing them first amongst the unregistered parties.
A nationwide recruitment campaign entitled Let’s Make Workers’ Issues Hi-Viz began in 2006 as an attempt to gain the necessary members to register and contest the party vote in the 2008 general election.
In the 2007 local elections
, the Workers Party stood four mayoral candidates in Christchurch
, Dunedin
, Waitakere
, and Wellington
.
The Workers Party received 4 705 votes nationwide, with 2 101 of those votes being for Waitakere
candidate Rebecca Broad.
In July 2008, the party announced four electorate candidates for the 2008 general election
.
On 3 October 2008 the party was registered by the Electoral Commission, allowing it to contest the party vote. In the 2008 New Zealand election
, it ultimately received 932 party votes (0.04% of the vote), and 480 electorate votes.
The party failed to apply for broadcasting funding for the 2011 election
. Its registration was cancelled at its own request on 20 May 2011. The party has announced that it will not stand candidates in the 2011 election, saying that the previous election "gave quite clear evidence" that trying to using electoral participation to "raise the profile of both socialist ideas and our own organisation" was not working, however on there website they stated that they are backing the Mana Party in the elections.
, became the first person to be charged under the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act, after burning a New Zealand flag at an anti-war demonstration. In 2008 Hopkinson also became the first school teacher to be suspended without pay for challenging the provisions of the 1993 Electoral Act relating to public servants, when he refused to voluntarily take unpaid leave in order to contest the seat of Christchurch East in that year's general election as the Workers Party candidate.
Nick Kelly was elected president of the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association
(VUWSA) in 2006 after holding a string of other positions in the organisation. Prior to this he was the Chair of Paul Swain
's Labour
Electorate Committee (LEC) in 2000, but was sacked in 2001 for opposing Labour's economic policies. He was also dragged out of a Labour conference for yelling at Prime Minister Helen Clark
over Labour's support for the invasion of Afghanistan
. In 2002, Kelly was expelled from the Labour Party altogether for standing against Paul Swain for the seat of Rimutaka. In September 2008 Kelly took up a new role as president of the Wellington Tramways Union. Kelly left the Workers Party in June 2009.
Another party member, Joel Cosgrove, won the VUWSA presidency in 2008.
In June 2011 these individuals joined with other former members of the Workers Party to launch an on-line Marxist publication entitled Redline.
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
political party in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It publishes a monthly magazine called "The Spark".
Its current National Organiser and Secretary is Rebecca Broad.
Platform
According to the party's official website,The five-point policy platform of the Workers Party is as follows:
- Opposition to all New Zealand and Western intervention in the Third World and all Western military alliances.
- Secure jobs for all with a living wage and a shorter working week.
- For the unrestricted right of workers to organise and take industrial action and no limits on workers' freedom of speech and activity.
- For working class unity and solidarity - equality for women, Maori and other ethnic minorities and people of all sexual orientations and identities; open borders and full rights for migrant workers.
- For a working people's republic.
The party's magazine The Spark states that the party wants: "A world without poverty and war, a world of material abundance where human potential can be expressed in full," adding that "While these ideas appear untenable today, they were the notions that inspired revolutions in the 20th century."
History
The party was founded in 2002. It was formed by an electoral alliance of the original Workers' Party (pro-MaoMao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
) and the pro-Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
Revolution group, with the intention of fielding candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election. The party was unregistered, and so could not contest the party vote in New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional electoral system.
In 2004, the original Workers' Party and Revolution merged to become the Revolutionary Workers' League (RWL), which describes itself as a "Marxist current".
Recently, publications formerly published by the RWL became Workers' Party publications.
Elections
In the 2002 electionsNew Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, the Anti-Capitalist Alliance stood four candidates, the highest number for an unregistered party that year. The candidates gained a total of 336 votes between them, placing the party in fourth place amongst the unregistered parties which contested.
In the 2005 election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
the ACA stood eight candidates, again the highest number for an unregistered party. The ACA won a combined total of 582 votes, placing them first amongst the unregistered parties.
A nationwide recruitment campaign entitled Let’s Make Workers’ Issues Hi-Viz began in 2006 as an attempt to gain the necessary members to register and contest the party vote in the 2008 general election.
In the 2007 local elections
New Zealand local elections, 2007
Triennial elections for all 73 cities, districts, twelve Regional Councils and all District Health Boards in New Zealand were held on 13 October 2007...
, the Workers Party stood four mayoral candidates in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, Waitakere
Waitakere
Waitakere City was the name of a city which existed from 1989 until 2010 in the Auckland region. It was New Zealand's fifth largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%...
, and Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
The Workers Party received 4 705 votes nationwide, with 2 101 of those votes being for Waitakere
Waitakere
Waitakere City was the name of a city which existed from 1989 until 2010 in the Auckland region. It was New Zealand's fifth largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%...
candidate Rebecca Broad.
In July 2008, the party announced four electorate candidates for the 2008 general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
.
On 3 October 2008 the party was registered by the Electoral Commission, allowing it to contest the party vote. In the 2008 New Zealand election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
, it ultimately received 932 party votes (0.04% of the vote), and 480 electorate votes.
The party failed to apply for broadcasting funding for the 2011 election
New Zealand general election, 2011
The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party...
. Its registration was cancelled at its own request on 20 May 2011. The party has announced that it will not stand candidates in the 2011 election, saying that the previous election "gave quite clear evidence" that trying to using electoral participation to "raise the profile of both socialist ideas and our own organisation" was not working, however on there website they stated that they are backing the Mana Party in the elections.
Electoral results (2002-2008)
| Election | # of candidates nominated (electorate/list) | # of seats won | # of electorate votes | # of party votes | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 New Zealand general election, 2002 The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial... |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2005 New Zealand general election, 2005 The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the... |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2008 New Zealand general election, 2008 The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social... |
|
|
|
|
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Notable members
In 2003 Paul Hopkinson, who stood as a candidate for the Anti-Capitalist Alliance in the 2005 electionNew Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
, became the first person to be charged under the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act, after burning a New Zealand flag at an anti-war demonstration. In 2008 Hopkinson also became the first school teacher to be suspended without pay for challenging the provisions of the 1993 Electoral Act relating to public servants, when he refused to voluntarily take unpaid leave in order to contest the seat of Christchurch East in that year's general election as the Workers Party candidate.
Nick Kelly was elected president of the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association
Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association
The Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association is the official students' association at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand...
(VUWSA) in 2006 after holding a string of other positions in the organisation. Prior to this he was the Chair of Paul Swain
Paul Swain
Paul Desmond Swain, QSO is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party.-Early life:Swain was born in Palmerston North on 20 December 1951. He attended St. Patrick's College in Wellington...
's Labour
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
Electorate Committee (LEC) in 2000, but was sacked in 2001 for opposing Labour's economic policies. He was also dragged out of a Labour conference for yelling at Prime Minister Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
over Labour's support for the invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. In 2002, Kelly was expelled from the Labour Party altogether for standing against Paul Swain for the seat of Rimutaka. In September 2008 Kelly took up a new role as president of the Wellington Tramways Union. Kelly left the Workers Party in June 2009.
Another party member, Joel Cosgrove, won the VUWSA presidency in 2008.
2011 leadership resignations
In February 2011 a minority section of the former leadership of the Workers Party, including former National Secretary Daphna Whitmore, former National Organiser Philip Ferguson and former "Spark" Co-ordinating Editor Don Franks announced their decision to leave the organisation in a joint letter of resignation stating that:In June 2011 these individuals joined with other former members of the Workers Party to launch an on-line Marxist publication entitled Redline.