Matt McCarten, President of the New Zealand NewLabour Party
United States Tour Dates: April 16- May 12
Seven-City Tour: San Francisco Bay Area, Portland-Eugene, Detroit,
Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles (other cities a
possibility if you reach us soon)
Matt McCarten, a Maori, is a leader of the New Zealand labor
movement, an organizer and former president of the Hotel and
Hospital Workers' Union, and the President of the NewLabour Party.
He became president of his union at age 22, as leader of an
opposition group in the union.
The New Zealand NewLabour Party split from that country's
governing Labour Party about three years ago, in response to its
Reaganite policies, which were an attack on working people. Since
that time they have formed an alliance with other New Zealand left
parties, the largest of which are the Green Party and Mana
Motuhake, the Maori movement for self-determination. The New
Zealand Alliance currently leads in the polls for the elections to
be held in the fall of 1993. Matt is the Chairperson of the
Alliance National Campaign. The Alliance recently won victories in
Auckland, New Zealand's major city.
We need your help to build this tour! Help us network by emailing
names of organizations and individuals you think might be
interested. Since Matt is a Maori, a member of the indigenous
population of New Zealand, Pacific Islander groups and Native
American groups might be interested. Since he is the chair of the
Alliance, a coalition of the Greens and the NewLabour Party and
others, Green Party activists should be interested, as well as
labor activists. And Asian groups might want to help also. We
don't know all those people! With your help we might be able to
connect. We also need help with media work. Who do you know that
would like to interview Matt? This is the first major tour from
New Zealand telling about the exciting developments there. Help us
make it a success.
Help build the tour and get out the word in this country that it
is possible to build an alliance of labor, greens, people of color
and others promoting positive change. To help or for more
information, call Alex at (510) 489-8554, email to:
achis@igc.apc.org , or write:
New Zealand Alliance Tour Committee, c/o Committees of
Correspondence, 522 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110