 A quick message from the editors to introduce our newsletter and what it'll be.
Tēnā koutou katoa! It’s the editors here, and it’s our pleasure to welcome you to this: the inaugural issue of Partisan. This newsletter is a long time in the making. After many false starts, conversations and arguments over the time we've been part of things, it's become clear that a space needs to be created for socialists in Wellington to discuss the things that matter locally, from a Marxist perspective. Our aim is not that this becomes a party newspaper, but a space where communists, socialists and fellow travellers in our city can let each other know what’s going on in the region, what needs our attention and what we can be doing to improve in our organisational efforts. Once a month, we'll publish a new slate of articles. There'll be stuff written by Te Nuku Mauī members, stuff sent in from the wider Wellington and Aotearoa left, and a monthly editorial column from us. We'll aim to cover upcoming demonstrations, discussions on policy, reflections on past work and the occasional ramble about what’s gone on in the past and how it relates to what’s happening now. Sometimes, these will be supplemented by a special update as short-notice actions are announced or events transpire that might demand a more immediate bit of writing. Our hope as the editorial team on Partisan is that we and our newsletter will be a small part in a wider effort to build left wing community here in Wellington. To get people talking to each other and working together as a movement and as a class on the things that matter, not just arguing with each other as clique members on issues of semantics and sectarianism. Our current political landscape has left many feeling hopeless as what little we had won during the previous Labour government is stripped away in a matter of months. If we want to fight back and win, that begins with dialogue. We hope to inspire some of that. This website is able to stay online thanks to the generous contributions and many volunteer hours of our dedicated community of writers, rank-and-file union members, and guys who work in IT who had no idea what they were putting their hands up for when they let their comrades know they "knew a bit about computers." Without you, none of this would be possible. That being said, we are always on the lookout for anybody who’s got something to say or is willing to lend a hand with website maintenance, and we encourage you to get in touch at [email protected] if you’d like to see your work here. Sincerely, thank you for visiting. We hope you find something useful in what we've got to say. See you on the picket lines, - The Editors |