PEKING'S NEW ZEALAND SHOWPIECE
Christchurch
Since the Communist party of New Zealand [CPNZ]. first sup- . ported the "Chinese line," the Peking. Review has. given a great deal of publicity to statements. by General. Secretary V.G.Wilcox. This is intended to indicate, no doubt, that the CPNZ has a meaningful base of mass support, that it is unanimous in its support for Peking, and that this. support is; valuable on an internationay.: level.
But the. “COPNZ. has “probably. less: than. 300. members throughout the country; and a considerable. proportion are. inactive. The Communist party is ignored by New Zealand voters; it.is.ridéen with | dissension over the .Sino-Soviet: dispute; it talks: only to itself. It. is incapable of saying anything, or doing anything which the New Zealand worker can relate to: the. economic and social problems . of which he has everyday experience.
The ideological dispute aia not improve matters. Given the bureaucratic centralism of the party, it led inevitably to a split. In fact, the CPNZ has had several splits.
The first began with the expulsion, early in 1964, of two leading members of the Canterbury District Committee. Their crime was factionalism. Following the expulsions, fully one-third of the | membership in Canterbury province resigned in support of those expelled. This split was unusual in that the substantial numbers who left the party were opposed to the leadership, not because it supported Peking, but because they felt, rightly, that their support for Peking was merely verbal and that the leadership refused to put its militant words into practice. There was, of course, a tendency towards adventurism among those who resigned.
New Zealand has. been described, quite aptly, as the "paradise. of the Second International," and. there is certainly no strong move— ment of an explicitly socialist character here. Any adventurist and |
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sectarian "gimmicks" are doomed from the start. This is one reason for the voting strength of the right-wing Labour party in spite of its lack of good cadres and grass-roots activity. Nevertheless; the group of Canterbury expellees and resignees, with their supporters, formed the euphemistically named "Workers' Action Movement," which bases its program on the theory that since the revolution has not yet arrived it must first be necessary to prepare and work for a national democratic revolution, wherein an alliance will be formed between the -industrial workers, the farmers, and the national bourgeois and petty-bourgeois classes. This alliance will achieve New” . Zealand's independence from the English monarchy and English capitalism by effecting the economic and political and cultural independence before. and- separate from structural social change.within New Zealand.
Obviously, the members of the "Workers' Action Movement" have’ not forgotten everything they learned in the Communist party. But the lesson of Indonesia, let alone every revolution since 1917, remains, whether they choose. to regard it or not.
This myopic concern with the (usually) superficial aspects of New Zealand's relations with Britain has made the "Workers' Action Movement" disinterested in opposing imperialism elsewhere. It is, for example, unconcerned with the broadly based opposition here to New Zealand" ‘Ss ‘Support, albeit token, for the American war against Vietnan. fer cose Se
It is apparently. unaware that industries in the secondary sectors of the economy of New Zealand are coming increasingly under control of the American monopolies, for its demonstrations are aimed at Royal Visits, not at imperialist actions in Vietnam. Indeed, its sectarian members do not even take part in such activities, unless. to disrupt them. This attitude of sectarianism endears the "Workers' Action Movement" to no one in other groups on the left from which it might otherwise be expected to recruit.
_ The second split, also in Canterbury, followed almost immediately. Directly after the supporters of the "Workers' Action Movement" walked out, the Communist party. sent one of its National Executive members to take charge in Canterbury, and to "investigate and resolve questions of disunity in the District.
After investigating and. resolving for a fortnight, the result was that over one-half of those who had remained in the party when the first wave of resignations occurred,: ‘resigned in protest over the party's sectarian attitude towards the rank and file of the: Labour party and its general support of the Moscow version of npeaceful coexistence. :
Leading this second exodus: was F.. “MeNulty, one of! the: CP's best-known functionaries and the national secretary of the New. Zealand Freezing Workers' Association, one of the most militant trade unions in the country, strategically placed because the econ— omy heavily depends on the export of frozen meat’ to obtain ‘the overseas funds necessary to provide a largé proportion of the raw.
materials fer our: secondary industries and a great amount of our consumer B00dss | fin .
Shortly: after this, the National Executive ‘@issolved the. party in Dunedin, New Zealand's fifth largest city, on the grounds that in its support for Moscow the Dunedin party had broken discipline. Once — again a leading member of the National Executive was sent to reform:-, a province of the party. And once again, unsuccessfully. The Dunedin. expellees were led by B. Skilton, a past National Executive member of: “the Communist. party and its organizing secretary.
Then came. the biggest walkout of all. In Auckland, New Zealand's largest. city, where the Communist party has its greatest strength, a: large group of prominent; members left the party. This group was led by G.E. Jackson; a past* national chairman; A.Drennan, also a past national chairman, who has been a national vice-chairman of the New Zealand Waterfront Workers' Federation as well as chairman of the Auckland District Trades Council of the Federation of Labour. Drennan is currently on the Executive Committee of the Brewery Workers' Union. This Auckland group also included G.H.Andersen, a National . Executive member who is also secretary of the Northern: Drivers' Union; E.J.S.Miller, secretary of the Taranaki District Trades Council of... the Federation of Labour and a national councillor of the Federation of Labour; E.Ayo, a prominent shop steward of the Fngineers' Union; | T.Curphey, secretary of the Auckland Seamens' Union; and K.Douglas, secretary of the Wellington Drivers' Union.
This powerful Auckland group.has:‘been endorsed by a member of the Management Committee of the Transport Workers' Union; the chairman of the Engine Drivers' Union; the vice-chairman of the Boilermakers' Union; and a national councillor. of the Railway Workers. Union. who is also chairman of the. Auckland Comma ttee on Vietnam and the Hiroshima Day Committee.
From: this it is evident that the CPNZ has lost what was a strong position, given its small. membership, in the workers organizations. The Auckland. and Dunedin groups, along. with the Canterbury | group under McNulty have now formed a “Socialist Unity Party, ' an unfortunate choice “of name, to. say the least, .
This new party is unlikely to make any “noticeable impact on the political scene in spite of its impressive list of trade-union backers. It is concerned too much with support for-the positions of Moscow to gain the adherence of many New Zealanders. It seems unable to recruit any youth. In fact, it-is little. more than an extension of the USSR Friendship Society. oy :
Considering the record of the CPNZ,.one would think that the Chinese would find support from this quarter .to be more embarrassing than useful. But, on the contrary, such: publications as Peking Review seem to regard the support that the Chinese: line. gets from the CPNZas a confirmation of ‘the Chinese view.
Never very strong, the CPNZ is rapidly disintegrating, and
while the Vietnam issue might permit it to recruit enough new brood to maintain the appearance of meaningful activity on a national. scale, the party is effectually dead. So desperate has it become that-it is shrilly announcing its leadership in many fields where it has *been.a late starter, if a participant at all. A recent. issue of Communist Revue, for example, has provided the left with ‘this> month" Ss neeny, story -- the CP has claimed that it initiated and
“This is . blatantly untrue, put: does provide the Tory press with
smear campaign ammunition to use against the protest movement. Once ‘again, support from the CP has proved to be double-sided. But. whereas this statement would“have effectively discredited a protest movement in the past, this time it is so patently ludicrous ‘that its detrimental effect on the opposition to the government's support for the U.S. “has been hardy - noticeable.
More important than the CP and its splinter groups at the moment:-are the changes in the Labour party. This year there is a general election, and the Labour party seems likely to withdraw New-Zealand combat troops from Vietnam if it becomes the government... It does not, of course, support the National Liberation Front, but it does not like fascism either, and it depends on the Federation of Labour for finance, and the FOL is strong for withdrawal.
ALGERIAN