International Socialist Organisation, NZ

International Socialist Organisation, NZ For Workers' Power and International Socialism! The ISO is a group of revolutionary activists in Aotearoa. www.iso.org.nz We oppose all immigration controls.

Socialism
Capitalism is a system of crisis, exploitation and war in which production is for profit, not human need. Although workers create society's wealth, they have no control over its production or distribution. A new society can only be built when workers collectively seize control of that wealth and create a new state in which they will make the decisions about the economy, social life and t

he environment. Workers' Power
Only the working class has the power to create a society free from exploitation, oppression and want. Liberation can be won only through the struggles of workers themselves, organised independently of all other classes and fighting for real workers' power - a new kind of state based on democratically elected workers' councils. China and Cuba, like the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, have nothing to do with socialism. They are repressive state capitalist regimes. We support the struggles of workers against every ruling class. Revolution Not Reformism
Despite the claims of Labour, Alliance and trade union leaders, the structures of the present parliament, army, police and judiciary cannot be taken over and used by the working class. They grew up under capitalism and are designed to protect the ruling class against workers. There is no parliamentary road to socialism. Internationalism
Workers in every country are exploited by capitalism, so the struggle for socialism is part of a worldwide struggle. We oppose everything that divides workers of different countries. We campaign for solidarity with workers in other countries. We oppose imperialism and support all genuine national liberation struggles. Liberation From Oppression
We fight for democratic rights. We are opposed to the oppression of women, Mäori, Pacific Islanders, g**s and le****ns. These forms of oppression are used to divide the working class. We support the right of all oppressed groups to organise for their own defence. All these forms of liberation are essential to socialism and impossible without it. Tino Rangatiratanga
We support the struggle for tino rangatiratanga. Mäori capitalists and politicians have no interest in achieving tino rangatiratanga for working class Mäori. The Government and corporate warriors' approach to Treaty claims has benefited a Mäori elite while doing little for working class Mäori. Tino rangatiratanga cannot be achieved within capitalism. It will only become a reality with the establishment of a workers' state and socialist society. Revolutionary Organisation
To achieve socialism, the most militant sections of the working class have to be organised into a revolutionary socialist party. Such a party can only be built by day-to-day activity in the mass organisations of the working class. We have to prove in practice to other workers that reformist leaders and reformist ideas are opposed to their own interests. We have to build a rank and file movement within the unions. We are beginning to build such a party, linking the ideas of revolutionary socialism to workers' struggles against the system. If you agree with our ideas and want to fight for socialism, we urge you to join us.

As student protest over the cost of education rises again, against the government scrapping final year fees-free study, ...
20/08/2026

As student protest over the cost of education rises again, against the government scrapping final year fees-free study, a veteran of the '90s student movement gave this public talk at a meeting hosted by VUW International Socialists.

The story starts back in the 1980s. Up until 1979, tertiary education had been virtually free for all – overseas students and domestic students alike – with everyone paying the same “administration fee” of around $100 a year. In 1979, a $1,500 tuition fee was introduced for overseas students...

“2026 may be seeing the birth of a new wave of student activism across Aotearoa. On 29 July, approximately 500 students ...
17/08/2026

“2026 may be seeing the birth of a new wave of student activism across Aotearoa. On 29 July, approximately 500 students struck and marched through the University of Otago campus to make themselves heard. The demonstrators called on the government with four key demands: Fees-free education, funding above inflation, independent student unions, and universal student allowance. Three demands were also made to the university itself: No cuts, no fee hikes, and to defy government austerity.”

2026 may be seeing the birth of a new wave of student activism across Aotearoa. On 29 July, approximately 500 students struck and marched through the University of Otago campus to make themselves heard. The demonstrators called on the government with four key demands: Fees-free education, funding ab...

“It is not the best or most popular ideas that hold the most sway in society, but rather the ideas of those who have the...
11/08/2026

“It is not the best or most popular ideas that hold the most sway in society, but rather the ideas of those who have the most power. We know the state machinery of capitalist nations is built to serve the ruling capitalist class and perpetuate their ideas. This doesn’t mean that there is no room for contestation. What it means is that any alternative vision for the world needs to be backed up by organisation if it is to survive and spread.”

It is not the best or most popular ideas that hold the most sway in society, but rather the ideas of those who have the most power. We know the state machinery of capitalist nations is built to serve the ruling capitalist class and perpetuate their ideas. This doesn’t mean that there is no room [....

ISO Coordinating Committee member Oscar Bartle on the mic in this Otago Daily Times coverage of yesterday’s student stri...
29/07/2026

ISO Coordinating Committee member Oscar Bartle on the mic in this Otago Daily Times coverage of yesterday’s student strike in Ōtepoti.

Dunedin students unite to protest end of fees free scheme

27/07/2026

ISO Coordinating Committee member Rosie Cruickshank speaks on the need for a revolutionary socialist party ✊.

Message the page to get involved.

Video description
A woman with blonde hair and a black and red sweater speaks to the camera with various outdoor and indoor backgrounds.

“Commentators claim that protests are ineffective, pointless, and counter-productive. But the historical evidence sugges...
27/07/2026

“Commentators claim that protests are ineffective, pointless, and counter-productive. But the historical evidence suggests otherwise.

These protests forced university administrations to implement smaller fee increases than originally planned. But much more importantly, the scale and militancy of these protests prevented the first attempt to introduce VSM legislation (in 1994), and privatisation of the universities.

Finally, without the involvement of the International Socialists (which became the ISO) in the Otago student struggles of the 1990s, there is no doubt that those struggles would have been smaller, less militant, less tactically sophisticated, not as well informed politically, and less effective. Our view was that building the education campaign and building the IS were not mutually exclusive goals, but inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing.”

We can learn much of value from the student struggles of the 1990s for the student struggles in the second half of the 2020s against high fees, inadequate provision of student allowances, and rising student debt. General Context – Rapid and Comprehensive Implementation of Neoliberalism The backgro...

26/07/2026

ISO Coordinating Committee member Oscar Bartle speaks on attacks on tertiary education and the need for a mass militant student movement.

Join the protests which are taking place on 29 July in Ōtepoti and Tāmaki makaurau, and 30 July in Te Whanganui-a-tara.

Video description
A man with dark hair, a beard, glasses, and a grey coat speaks to a camera. Background of a beige wall, a door, and a clothes rack.

A teacher writes: “The government’s attacks on education are a galling change when we consider the world we want our āko...
24/07/2026

A teacher writes: “The government’s attacks on education are a galling change when we consider the world we want our ākonga to be ready for. A world where AI challenges their very concept of employment, where climate disasters ravage the planet. We need a society of critical and creative thinkers that can take on the challenges that are at our front doorstep. All this government is offering is privatisation and exploitation.”

A Crisis in Achievement or a Crisis in Society? Is education in crisis? It certainly seems so. Those of us who are working in schools have had to deal with the cavalcade of changes. That includes curriculum changes, attendance requirements, burgeoning school rolls, new systems, and administrative ta...

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Wellington
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