Near the heartland of New Zealand鈥檚 renowned wine country, there is a place where visitors are not allowed to go. The peculiar large white domes that protrude from the earth in the Waihopai Valley are surrounded by razor wire and shrouded in secrecy.
Aotearoa New Zealand
Staring down scandals related to revelations in a recently published book, Dirty Politics, and revelations of mass government surveillance, incumbent Prime Minister John Key led his right-wing National Party to become the first party with an outright majority in parliament since the current electoral system was set up in 1996.
The Labour opposition, however, slumped to about 24% of the vote 鈥 its worst result ever.
Laila Harre, the leader of the newly formed Internet Party, told a September 16 stop-work meeting in west Auckland organised by the FIRST and Unite unions, that state spying was not due to concerns about terrorism, but to target people who 鈥渙rganise for change鈥.
John Minto is a veteran New Zealand activist who became known as a leader of a powerful anti-apartheid campaign in the 1970s. More recently, he was part of organising some of the largest pro-Palestine demonstrations ever in New Zealand.
It is a story that will be familiar to many residents of the Sydney suburb Millers Point: a suburb with long-standing public housing that provides affordable accommodation to low-income residents is at the centre government attempts, at the behest of property developers, to remove public housing tenants and free up land that just happens to feature prime water-side views.
Immediately after the September 15 鈥淢oment of Truth鈥 public meeting 鈥 in which NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden exposed John Key鈥檚 National Party government complicity in the wholesale, and illegal, surveillance of New Zealanders 鈥 Internet MANA candidate in the September 20 elections, Joe Carolan, spoke to 麻豆传媒 on the meeting鈥檚 significance.
Auckland Town Hall was packed to overflowing on September 15, with almost 2000 people. They heard US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden present new evidence that the New Zealand government has been collaborating with US authorities to carry out wholesale surveillance and data collection on NZ citizens.
New Zealand goes to the polls on September 20. Amid a big scandal of government 鈥渄irty tricks鈥, the is pushing the interests of the working-class and Maori communities.
Mana was formed when firebrand Maori Party MP Hone Harawira split over the Maori Party's support for a right-wing National Party government in 2011. It brings together militant Maori activists with other working-class and left forces.
A New Zealand newspaper has sparked outrage after declaring 鈥減rotest-free news鈥 and printing a white power symbol to mark the country's official founding as a European colony.
The New Zealand Herald drew ire from readers over its outspoken refusal to cover otherwise high-profile protests by indigenous Maori on Waitangi Day. Commemorated on February 6, it is a state holiday marking the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the British crown and tribal delegations.
Continuing New Zealand鈥檚 proud history of protests at sea, attempts by Texan oil giant Andarko to start deep-sea oil drilling are being blocked by a tiny sailing boat.
Thousands came out to NZ's west coast beaches on November 23 to support the Oil Free Flotilla in its stand against Anadarko. More than 1000 gathered for the main event at West Auckland's iconic Piha beach, carrying colourful home-made banners with messages such as "We love our beaches", "No drill, no spill" and "Anadarko go home".
A national day of action against rape drew thousands of protesters onto the streets across New Zealand on November 16. Outrage continues to grow at revelations police were aware of an Auckland 鈥渞ape gang鈥, which posted videos boasting of their exploits on social media, for at least two years, but did nothing.
Recently, an organised criminal group called 鈥淩oastbusters鈥 were exposed as a gang-rape organisation who targeted intoxicated and underage girls, then publicly shamed them online.
The police knew about this group鈥檚 action since 2011 but failed to stop them. Police claimed they were powerless to act because none of the girls who were raped are 鈥渂rave enough鈥 to lay a formal complaint. It has since transpired that four complaints were ignored.
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