(Registration Required) Party Games: Left Electoralism in Aotearoa

The Federation of Socialist Societies does not have a party line on elections, not least because the Federation is not a party! Nevertheless, although our members hail from many different political perspectives, we all agree that the aim is to bring the working class to power. In what is sure to be a stimulating debate, Teanau Tuiono, Anna Knight, and Ben Rosamund will each explain why they are right and the others are wrong. Hopefully it will be a good old-fashioned rumble.

Teanau is a Green Party list MP with over 20 years’ experience as an activist, advocate, and organiser. With Cook Islands Māori (Atiu – Ngati Ingatu, Ngati Toki, Ngati Paerangi) and New Zealand Māori (Te Uriroroi, Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Takoto) heritage, Teanau is the Greens’ first Pasifika MP. He has a particular interest in the intersection of indigenous rights and environmental issues and has worked at the United Nations amplifying the voices of remote indigenous communities on the frontlines of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Anna is deputy chair of the Waikouaiti Coast Community Board, a member of Unions Otago, and is the Alliance Party candidate for Taieri in the 2026 general election. Anna believes our economic settings are currently backwards, rewarding the asset-rich over the working majority. She is running for the Alliance because the party wants genuine change, not tinkering at the edges – public ownership of strategic assets, full employment, and fair taxation.

Ben has been an organiser and activist in social movements for 15 years. He has been involved in Auckland Action Against Poverty, the anti-TPPA movement, and the think-tank Economic and Social Research Aotearoa. For the last ten years, he has worked at New Zealand’s largest education union. He’s now an active Labour Party member, chairing the party’s Henderson Labour Electorate Committee and having managed successful local body and general election campaigns.

This panel will take place on Saturday 14 November, 1pm, at Age Concern Otago. As this panel is part of the main proceedings of the conference, to attend you must register here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZvWQY716PAyoaU3EasXrbJNpDEcbhSb62d6skYAOtmKCZWQ/viewform