A Nelson-Tasman Socialist Society Public Lecture presented by Peter Clayworth, a historian originally hailing from Nelson, who has researched, written and spoken about the life of Patrick Hickey. Patrick Hickey was one of the key players in the ‘Red Fed’ period of New Zealand Labour history—one of the most turbulent periods in NZ’s industrial history….
2026 marks 250 years since the United States declared its independence, setting down in writing the ideals of modern bourgeois society that had been developing for centuries: that all are created equal and born with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration proclaims the profound sense of possibility nurtured by…
Israel’s war on Gaza has been termed a genocide by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, and several unions have declared that Peace is Union Business, giving us pause to also speak out for those being subjected to other acts of militarism and human rights violations around the world. But the road to collective consensus…
The Canterbury Socialist Society is delighted to host Dr Olivier Jutel, former journalist and media worker and now lecturer at the University of Otago. Says Olivier, the long-running crisis of public interest journalism in Aotearoa-New Zealand has become a story of global oligarchy and Big Tech imperialism. In the face of a rolling media apocalypse…
The far right is back and is bigger than ever. So, it seems like it’s a good time to look back on how local anti-fascist campaigners have opposed the far right in the past. In this month’s talk, anti fascist activist Mark will talk about the rise of the New Zealand National Front in the…
The passing of American hegemony is giving rise to a new kind of global order — one that is neither unipolar nor bipolar, and that goes beyond what is conventionally described as multipolarity. This talk argues that we are entering a “multiplex” world: a multi-regional order in which regions play an increasingly important role, not…
Murray Horton has been an activist for more than sixty years, in Aotearoa, Australia, and the Philippines. At one time an Editor of the University of Canterbury magazine Canta, and then active in the former National Union of Railwaymen, Murray has also been involved with the likes of the Christchurch Progressive Youth Movement, the Philippines…
At the 2025 Labour Party conference, Council of Trade Unions (CTU) President Sandra Grey challenged Labour to “give workers a reason to vote for” them by delivering fundamental, systemic change. She said that Aotearoa New Zealand’s “pavlova paradise” has been “eaten up by the rich,” laying the blame squarely at the feet of the 4th…
Vicky Southworth was a regional councillor at Environment Canterbury for 6 years (2019 to 2022). Prior to this she gained a Master of Water Resource Management from the University of Canterbury and worked as an engineering geologist with a focus on contaminated sites. Vicky will talk about the Nitrate Emergency declaration – what the issue…
The Wellington Socialist Society Presents – Against All Odds: A Public Talk on the Past, Present, and Future of Social Movements in Indonesia, In Conversation with Ben Laksana (Te Herenga Waka). Activism and social movements in Indonesia have been shaped by a long history of anti-communism, state violence, and the repression of popular organising. Drawing…