The Ernie Abbott Memorial Lecture 2026 – Give Me A Reason by CTU President Sandra Grey

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 Labour government’s Rogernomics reforms.

It has been some time since we’ve heard such rhetoric from a leader of the CTU, so we’ve asked Sandra to give the Ernie Abbott Memorial Lecture to elaborate on her challenge to Labour, to sketch her alternative vision for Aotearoa and the role she sees the union movement playing in bringing this vision about.

Ernie Abbott was the vice-president of the Caretakers and Cleaners Union and the caretaker of the Wellington Trades Hall. He was killed on 27 March 1984 in an act of right-wing terrorism when a bomb exploded ripping through the Trades Hall.

The Ernie Abbott Memorial Lecture was established by the Wellington Socialist Society in 2024 in dedication to the memory of Ernie and all those who have given their lives in service to working people. It is focused on labour, trade union, and socialist history and politics in Aotearoa.
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Event Proceedings:
6:00 pm – Doors Open
6:30 pm – Introductions
6:40 pm – Talk from Sandra
7:20 pm – Intermission
7:30 pm – Audience Q&A

For those unable to attend we will have a live-stream on the Wellington Socialist Society Facebook page.

Drinks and food will be available to order from the bar. As always, we are thankful to Bedlam & Squalor for hosting us.