The future?

We usually leave the crystal ball gazing to our resident astrologer, but extraordinary times call for extaordinary measures. Here is prediction of what will happen by another member of the collective who says "I'm cautious about making predictions while everything is in a state of flux, but this is almost certainly what is going to happen". If you have a better prediction, send it to us at freedomshopaotearoa@gmail.com.

Probable timeline
May 2020 – Lockdown extended. Ardern condemns panic buying and praises mutual aid groups for keeping communities functioning.

June 2020 – Ardern condemns mutual aid groups and issues plea for people to panic buy in order to keep businesses afloat.

August 2020 – Economy collapses.

September 2020 – Wave of collectivisations sweeps country as businesses fail.

January 2021 – Financial Times newspaper changes name to 'Mutual Aid Times'.

August 2021 – NZ military called out, but return to barracks saying people were being mean to them.

November 2021 – Massive environmental recovery as industry and farming decentralised. Dolphins sighted in Waikato River.

December 2021 – Hamilton man killed and eaten by dolphins in Waikato River.

March 2022 – Remaining capitalist enterprises demand government support and are referred to the Historic Places Trust.

April 2022 – Ardern's re-election campaign founders on small turnout and emergence of footage showing the PM shooting a yeti with a machine gun while on a family holiday in Nepal. Winston Peters becomes Prime Minister, according to report on page 19 of 'Teen Vogue'.

September 2023 – Unicorns discovered on remote Indian Ocean island. They have rainbow manes and tails and are highly tolerant and accepting of non-unicorns.

December 2023 – Simon Bridges and James Shaw referred to mandatory community gardening work after a punch-up when both attend a 'Fridays for Getting Government Back' vigil on the former parliament lawn, now a wheat field.

April 2027 – Calls for more history teaching in community skill shares after survey reveals 62% of teenagers don't know New Zealand once had a government.

Reading for the COVID-19nz Lockdown

Why Reject the Treaty

When the lockdown is lifted, do you want the focus to be on building roads or would it be better to start building homes? Build a quality healthcare system? Abolish prisons? Kick capitalism into the gutter?
The Shop is shut but here are some zines to help you plot and plan your way through the lockdown and envisage the communities that can come after the lockdown.

The Myth of Passivity by Toby Boraman

Prison Abolition

Annette Sykes 2010 Bruce Memorial Lecture

Anarchy by Sam Buchanan

Are We All NZers Now by Ani Mikaere

Surviving home detention - the great lockdown

Obviously the Freedom Shop is closed now while we are in lockdown. For prisoners and people in home detention, being separated from friends and family and having your movements curtailed is quite normal. 

While we can't sell you books right now, you can download e-books from our comrades at AK Press - they're having a sale at the moment.

We're working on putting some of our zines and pamphlets online soon.


See you on the barricades - but 2 metres apart please!

Tote bags and t-shirts for Newtown Fair

Just in time for the Newtown Fair on Sunday, 8 March, we've printed a whole pile of tote bags and t-shirts - some new designs and some old favourites:

 

So come and check us out at Oppertunity For Animals on Sunday, all day, (We'll also be open 11-4 on Saturday)

Palmy Zinefest this Saturday

This Saturday, 15 February, you will be able to find the Freedom Shop at the Palmerston North Zinefest.

It's at Snails Artist Run Spaces on 103 Taonui Street and we'll be there from 11am till 4pm.
For mor info see https://www.facebook.com/events/546359646199483/
 

APEC 2021 – Haere atu!

APEC 2021 is coming with the first official meetings beginning in December 2020 in Wellington. But in the lead-up to that there's the APEC 2021 Bill going through parliament with submissions due 12th February. This law is being passed to allow extreme security and surveillance from 1 July 2020 until 21 November 2021. Many local groups are calling for submissions to oppose the Bill, Auckland Peace Action has information on how do a submission.


APEC's goal is global free market and trade liberalisation. It emerged in 1989 in the Asia-Pacific region after major trade blocks were established in Europe and North America. During the APEC 1999 summit in Auckland it was described as 'white knights of colonisation'.

APEC's aim is profit at the expense of people and the environment.

•     APEC’s agenda worsens poverty and climate change
•     APEC’s agenda enables massive corporate sell-offs of land and resources
•     APEC increases the ease with which transnational corporations can exploit resources and open mining up
•     APEC listens and responds to corporate interests, not to the needs of workers, farmers, and indigenous people
•     APEC costs millions to host: money that could go to our communities in need of housing, health care and social services
•     APEC means welcoming warmongers, mass murderers, human rights abusers and corporate criminals to New Zealand

We've put together a little pamphlet with information about APEC, including from Communalism Aotearoa about the APEC Bill and a timeline.

Have a read of APEC 2021 Haere Atu!

Zines from UK

We've just received a range of anarchist and punkish zines from the UK: