New Zealand election signals deepening austerity and strikes

The lead-up to the New Zealand general election on November 7 has been marked by widespread alienation, anger, and disillusionment with the entire political establishment. Successive Labour- and National Party-led governments have overseen savage austerity measures and the diversion of billions in public funds into the military to prepare for war, according to the World Socialist Web Site. Polling released by the University of Otago on October 15 showed that satisfaction with the state of the economy averaged just 4.3 out of 10. Some 22 percent of respondents said they were angry over the cost of living, while 40 percent were struggling to pay for essentials and 75 percent expected this to persist for years. Lara Dolan of South Auckland’s Māngere Budgeting Services told Radio New Zealand that they see many "working poor" people coming in, including teachers, builders, and health care workers. Both main parties entered the election campaign promising to return government books to surplus—National by 2028/29 and Labour by 2029/30—which can only be achieved by a vast escalation of the ongoing assault on the social position of the working class.

Strikes surge across the public sector

According to the World Socialist Web Site, strikes have re-emerged after a period of quiescence imposed by the trade union bureaucracy. About 10,000 public servants took part in a half-day strike on September 9 against moves to drive down wages and impose thousands of job cuts. On October 21, 8,000 tertiary education staff held a half-day national strike against low wages, understaffing, and insecure contracts. Long-running strikes by firefighters continue, and the past two weeks have seen walkouts by KiwiBank staff and retail workers at Farmers and Ikea. Television New Zealand staff struck nationally for the first time in 20 years, while localized strikes were held by Watties frozen food workers in Hawkes Bay and hospital staff in both Hamilton and Tauranga. For months, National and Labour have both polled below 30 percent support, marking the first time the two central props of the ruling establishment have been so unpopular since the 1930s.

Public service cuts and political fallout

Whichever party leads the next government will have to form a coalition with two or more minor parties, which will likely be highly unstable as the capitalist parties lurch sharply to the right. The Post reported on October 30 that public service chiefs have been ordered to draw up plans for sweeping spending cuts to axe nearly 9,000 more jobs. The Public Service Commission has written to department heads requiring them to model an immediate 15 percent reduction in staff numbers, following more than 9,500 public sector roles already slashed since 2023. Opposition Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins criticised the cuts, declaring that they would affect the people supporting hospitals, border security, schools, and communities. At the same time, the World Socialist Web Site notes that Labour has adopted National's 2.4 billion dollar annual government operating allowance.

This piece was generated automatically by an AI model from the sources listed below. It has not been reviewed by a human editor.

Sources

• New Zealand election foreshadows deep attacks on the working class — World Socialist Web Site
• Can the DSA Build Working-Class Power? — Jacobin