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Have a dissenting New Year!

To all 15,000 of our readers in Aotearoa and overseas and all 1,000 of our loyal subscribers, we wish you and your whānau the happiest year ahead.

Since we know what makes you happy is to educate, agitate, and organise, we want to share some ideas about actions and invite your own thoughts in the reply section below.

First, let’s remind ourselves what we mean by dissenting social work. You could listen to Ian Hyslop’s 2021 interview with Paul Michael Garret about his text on Dissenting Social Work or visit Paul’s website.

When it comes to taking action, here are just a few suggestions (these are aimed at readers in Aotearoa). None of us have the time to do everything, but we hope our ideas below prompt you to find your tūranagawaewae (place to stand).

Write a Submission to a Select Committee.

Any member of the NZ public can influence the shaping of proposed new legislation or amendments to existing legislation by writing a submission to the relevant Parliamentary Select Committee. People Against Prisons Aotearoa has written a very useful guide on how to submit to select committees.

There are two current hot topics for which the government has chosen deadlines during the holiday season to reduce the number of submissions.

Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill | Closing date Tuesday 7th January. Action Station offers an easy Treaty Principles Bill submission tool. Advice on making a submission from NZCTU, the Green Party, the Labour Party, Te Tiriti is Us,

Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill | Closing date Thursday 9th January.See the draft submission from People Against Prisons Aotearoa.

Sign a Petition.

End Israel’s Genocide: Call on the NZ government to act | Sign the Amnesty International petition.

Ditch the Bootcamps | Sign the Green Party petition.

The Declaration of Māori Political Independence | Sign the Te Pāti Māori petition.

ASB KiwiSaver divest from illegal Israeli settlements or we switch! | Sign the petition by Don’t Bank on Apartheid.

Read a Free eBook.

Verso free ebooks | Pluto open access.

Write to your MP.

Whatever the issue, your MP is your political representative, whatever their party. It’s always worth connecting with them in writing or face-to-face about the issues that concern you. Justice for Palestine developed some useful tips about writing to MPs relevant to any issue, local, national, or international. If you’re unsure who your MP is, find out here on the Parliament website.

Other actions.

There are many, many other actions we can take. The point is not to become overwhelmed by the many issues that assail us but, as the Bard said, “…to take arms against a sea of troubles. And by opposing, end them!”

You can join a trade union or become a trade union representative, become a member of a political party or campaigning organisation, attend a public meeting on an issue, or take part in a protest action.

Please use the reply box below to share your plans and other ideas about actions worth taking in 2025. You might also want to share some links to rabble-rousing music!

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