Matt McCarten
Encyclopedia
Matthew "Matt" McCarten (born 1959) is a New Zealand
political organiser. He has been involved with several leftist or centre-left political parties, and is also active in the trade-union movement. he writes a weekly column for the Herald on Sunday.
, but grew dissatisfied with the party's direction under Minister of Finance
Roger Douglas
. Douglas was a strong promoter of free-market
economics and deregulation
, which McCarten and others saw as a betrayal of Labour's roots. Eventually, one of Labour's MPs, Jim Anderton
, broke away to found NewLabour
, and McCarten became the president of the new organisation. NewLabour later joined with several other parties to form the Alliance
– McCarten became president of this new party as well.
After the 1999 elections
, the Alliance became the junior partner in a coalition government with Labour (which had now moved away from its programme of economic reforms). However, some members of the Alliance, including McCarten, felt that their grouping had made too many concessions to the more centrist Labour, and that the Alliance was abandoning its left-wing principles. Eventually, a rift developed between McCarten (serving as the Alliance's organisational leader) and Jim Anderton (serving as its political leader) – the party's governing Council backed McCarten, but most of its MPs backed Anderton.
After a long and bitter dispute, Anderton and his supporters left the Alliance to found the Progressive Party
in 2002, leaving McCarten's faction in control of the Alliance.
The Alliance, led politically by Laila Harré
from 2002 to 2003, suffered heavily in the 2002 elections
, losing all representation in Parliament. The following year, McCarten himself assumed the political leadership from Harré. He was compelled to resign this position in November 2004, however, after becoming increasingly involved with campaign work for the new Maori Party
. McCarten believed that the Alliance and the Maori Party were compatible, and that they should not regard each other as rivals, but this view was not shared by the members of either group. McCarten chose to leave the Alliance to focus on the Maori Party.
In early 2005, however, McCarten ended his association with the Maori Party as well, amid reports that he wanted to found a new working-class based party. In early 2005 Matt McCarten gained a mandate from the Unite Union
to take its leadership as secretary. Since then the Unite Union has won significant victories organising workers in New Zealand's secondary labour market ("the working poor"). Its most significant victory came out of the "supersizemypay.com" campaign, in which it negotiated a collective agreement covering the 7,000 employees of Restaurant Brands Ltd (Starbucks, KFC and Pizza Hutt). It continues to expand its coverage of low-paid workers in the fast-food, call-centre, security, hotel and hospitality industries, particularly in Auckland.
On 27 October 2010 McCarten announced that he would stand as an independent candidate for Parliament in the Mana by-election
caused by Winnie Laban
resigning as an MP.
In April 2011, McCarten was appointed "interim" chair of Hone Harawira
's new 'Mana Party'. However, it appears that McCarten's role is more akin to an advisor than a "Chair" in the ordinary sense of the word. McCarten has previously distanced himself from attempts to forge a new Left Wing party in New Zealand.
In response to this article, Israel's Ambassador to Australia
and non-resident Ambassador to New Zealand
, Yuval Rotem
, sharply criticized McCarten and accused him of "blunt anti-Israel sentiment which is a camouflage for anti-Semitism".
Comparing the situation of Gaza with that of the Warsaw Ghetto
in occupied Poland, McCarten has also suggested that the next move of Israeli leaders could be "to follow the example of the Nazis who in the end massacred everyone".
McCarten reportedly garnered some criticism in January 2009 when, as weekly columnist for the New Zealand Herald, he accused Israel
of ordering its soldiers to “slaughter and mutilate hundreds of citizens trapped on the Gaza Strip
.” McCarten also wrote that “The Nazis used a similar policy during World War II in their occupied territories. The Israelis are getting the same results the Nazis got -- their victims increase their hatred and determination to seek revenge.” McCarten further stated Israeli politicians' "prattling about the need to kill and maim thousands of citizens in their campaign for democracy and peace against barbarism would be comical, if it wasn't so outrageous".
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
political organiser. He has been involved with several leftist or centre-left political parties, and is also active in the trade-union movement. he writes a weekly column for the Herald on Sunday.
Political activity
McCarten started his political career as a member of the Labour PartyNew Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
, but grew dissatisfied with the party's direction under Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (New Zealand)
The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....
Roger Douglas
Roger Douglas
Sir Roger Owen Douglas , is a New Zealand politician who formerly served as a senior New Zealand Labour Party Cabinet minister. He became arguably best-known for his prominent role in the radical economic restructuring undertaken by the Fourth Labour Government during the 1980s...
. Douglas was a strong promoter of free-market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
economics and deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
, which McCarten and others saw as a betrayal of Labour's roots. Eventually, one of Labour's MPs, Jim Anderton
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton, usually known as Jim Anderton , is the leader of the Progressive Party, a New Zealand political party. He has served in Parliament since 1984. He served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and is currently also the sitting Father of the House, the longest...
, broke away to found NewLabour
NewLabour Party (New Zealand)
NewLabour was a left-of-centre party founded in 1989 by Jim Anderton, an MP and former President of the New Zealand Labour Party.NewLabour was established by a number of Labour Party members who left the party in reaction to "Rogernomics", the economic policies implemented by the Labour Party's...
, and McCarten became the president of the new organisation. NewLabour later joined with several other parties to form the Alliance
Alliance (New Zealand political party)
The Alliance is a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1991, and was influential in the 1990s, but has since declined and has no representation in parliament. It suffered a major setback after Jim Anderton, the party's leader, left the party in 2002, taking several of the...
– McCarten became president of this new party as well.
After the 1999 elections
New Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...
, the Alliance became the junior partner in a coalition government with Labour (which had now moved away from its programme of economic reforms). However, some members of the Alliance, including McCarten, felt that their grouping had made too many concessions to the more centrist Labour, and that the Alliance was abandoning its left-wing principles. Eventually, a rift developed between McCarten (serving as the Alliance's organisational leader) and Jim Anderton (serving as its political leader) – the party's governing Council backed McCarten, but most of its MPs backed Anderton.
After a long and bitter dispute, Anderton and his supporters left the Alliance to found the Progressive Party
New Zealand Progressive Party
Jim Anderton's Progressive Party , is a New Zealand political party generally somewhat to the left of its ally, the Labour Party....
in 2002, leaving McCarten's faction in control of the Alliance.
The Alliance, led politically by Laila Harré
Laila Harré
Laila Jane Harré is a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. She was a Member of Parliament for the left-wing Alliance party, and became the party's leader for a brief period after the group experienced a schism in 2002.-Early life:...
from 2002 to 2003, suffered heavily in the 2002 elections
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, losing all representation in Parliament. The following year, McCarten himself assumed the political leadership from Harré. He was compelled to resign this position in November 2004, however, after becoming increasingly involved with campaign work for the new Maori Party
Maori Party
The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
. McCarten believed that the Alliance and the Maori Party were compatible, and that they should not regard each other as rivals, but this view was not shared by the members of either group. McCarten chose to leave the Alliance to focus on the Maori Party.
In early 2005, however, McCarten ended his association with the Maori Party as well, amid reports that he wanted to found a new working-class based party. In early 2005 Matt McCarten gained a mandate from the Unite Union
Unite Union
The Unite Union is a trade union in New Zealand. It is the sponsor of the campaign directed towards improving working conditions for fast food workers in the country, in addition to representing other hospitality and retail workers...
to take its leadership as secretary. Since then the Unite Union has won significant victories organising workers in New Zealand's secondary labour market ("the working poor"). Its most significant victory came out of the "supersizemypay.com" campaign, in which it negotiated a collective agreement covering the 7,000 employees of Restaurant Brands Ltd (Starbucks, KFC and Pizza Hutt). It continues to expand its coverage of low-paid workers in the fast-food, call-centre, security, hotel and hospitality industries, particularly in Auckland.
On 27 October 2010 McCarten announced that he would stand as an independent candidate for Parliament in the Mana by-election
Mana by-election, 2010
A by-election was held in the New Zealand electorate of Mana on 20 November 2010. The seat was vacated by former Labour Pacific Island Affairs Minister Winnie Laban, who announced her resignation from the New Zealand Parliament on 10 August 2010 following her appointment as Assistant Vice...
caused by Winnie Laban
Luamanuvao Winnie Laban
Luamanuvao Winifred "Winnie" Alexandra Laban, QSO is a New Zealand politician. She was the Member of Parliament for the Mana electorate, representing the Labour Party. She was the Labour Party’s spokesperson for Pacific Island Affairs and spokesperson for Interfaith Dialogue.-Early life and...
resigning as an MP.
In April 2011, McCarten was appointed "interim" chair of Hone Harawira
Hone Harawira
Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and parliamentarian. He was elected to the Parliament of New Zealand for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in the 2005 general election as the Māori Party candidate. His resignation caused the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, held...
's new 'Mana Party'. However, it appears that McCarten's role is more akin to an advisor than a "Chair" in the ordinary sense of the word. McCarten has previously distanced himself from attempts to forge a new Left Wing party in New Zealand.
Social justice
McCarten has an interest in New Left and socialist views, calling into question capitalism and the Establishment.Palestine
McCarten has expressed strong criticism of the state of Israel and has publicly declared that Israel is "a terrorist state". In January 2008, McCarten wrote (in a column in the New Zealand Herald) that:
The truth is Israel is a terrorist state and is able to wage crimes on an innocent people because it is funded and abetted by the world's only superpower. Watching the television images of the Palestinians breaking through to freedom surely must make everyone in the world realise we are being sold a great lie about Israel wanting to negotiate peace.
In response to this article, Israel's Ambassador to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and non-resident Ambassador to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Yuval Rotem
Yuval Rotem
Yuval Rotem is currently the ambassador of the State of Israel to the Commonwealth of Australia.-Biography:Yuval Rotem was born on March 21, 1959 in Tel Aviv to Rachel and Israel Frenkel. They lived in a suburb called Giv'atayim. Rotem attended his first years of school in a local school. He moved...
, sharply criticized McCarten and accused him of "blunt anti-Israel sentiment which is a camouflage for anti-Semitism".
Comparing the situation of Gaza with that of the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
in occupied Poland, McCarten has also suggested that the next move of Israeli leaders could be "to follow the example of the Nazis who in the end massacred everyone".
McCarten reportedly garnered some criticism in January 2009 when, as weekly columnist for the New Zealand Herald, he accused Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
of ordering its soldiers to “slaughter and mutilate hundreds of citizens trapped on the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.” McCarten also wrote that “The Nazis used a similar policy during World War II in their occupied territories. The Israelis are getting the same results the Nazis got -- their victims increase their hatred and determination to seek revenge.” McCarten further stated Israeli politicians' "prattling about the need to kill and maim thousands of citizens in their campaign for democracy and peace against barbarism would be comical, if it wasn't so outrageous".
Further reading
- Matt McCarten and Cathy CaseyCathy Casey-Early years:Casey moved to New Zealand from Scotland in 1987.She taught at Kuranui College and served on the board of trustees. Between 2001 and 2004 she worked at AUT University.Casey is the partner of Matt McCarten.-Political career:...
(2002), Rebel in the Ranks.