Attack of the killer rhetoric

As Auckland scrubs up for Apec, some of the locals are preparing a welcome of a very different kind. By Kate Belgrave

People who think this generation of students are apathetic about politics are making the biggest mistake of their lives," grins committed student protester Luke Coxon.

"We're the new wave of students," says the 25-year-old, who has a masters degree in development studies from Auckland University.

"We grew up under the New Right regime and we're sick of it. The bottom line is that monetarism hasn't worked, economically or socially."

That's the message being spread by the university's "anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist" Radical Society, and by Apec Action, the student arm of the Auckland Coalition Against Apec.

Apec Action says it "can't wait to embarrass Shipley" during the Leaders' summit.

Among their plans: "a number of our protesters will strip naked in front of the world's cameras when Shipley least expects it," says Apec Action member Helen Te Hira, 24.

"That'll be something for Clinton to see," she giggles.

The dozen or so students organising Apec Action's protests against the leaders' summit say their goal is simple.

"The attention New Zealand will get during the leaders' meeting is our opportunity to draw the world's attention to the failure of the monetarist regime in New Zealand," says Coxon.

"These will be definitive protests that go down in history, like the Springbok tour protests or the Queen Street riots. The capitalist class will learn not to open up our natural resources and public assets to imperialist plunder."

So they may come on a little strong with the "kill all capitalist dogs" rhetoric, but that has always been a student prerogative.

Protesting is more than a prerogative, says Te Hira - it's an obligation. "We're not looking for confrontations with the police or anything - we don't want to have to waste money and time on lawyers and court cases - but the New Right should definitely be scared."

From the start, she says, the real plan has been to "educate as many students as possible" to the "real meaning" of Apec.

"As far as we're concerned, Apec is not about getting free trade up and running ... it's about coming up with plans and rules that benefit major corporations at the expense of ordinary people."

Every Thursday in the month before the leaders' summit, Apec Action will hold meetings, seminars and panel discussions with keynote speakers like Professor Jane Kelsey.

Apec Action members concede that their greatest challenge is to ensure that their fellow students are encouraged to bone up on the issues presented by Apec and discover the power of political protest.

While Auckland University students recently voted out compulsory union membership, undergraduate Sam Huggard does not see that decision as indicating a fairly terminal lack of interest in collective action. "That ... showed exactly how far the New Right has brain-washed youth," says Huggard. "It's the job of groups like Apec Action to draw their attention to that brain-washing."

"Students know the New Right has sold them out, especially in education," says Te Hira. "They know they're paying more fees for less education. They know the government's aim is to get more bums on seats, not improve the quality of teaching or access to it."

Apec Action members have a long history of taking the initiative - Te Hira was there for the leaders' meetings in both The Philippines and Malaysia, while Coxon was a protester in Manila.

"That's when I started to get really paranoid about government conspiracies against the people," he says.

"Like, the Philippines government, with the help of its air force, intentionally seeded the clouds so that it rained on anti-Apec protesters there. They wanted to demoralise us."

Isn't that a little too paranoid?

"No way," says Te Hira. "Capitalist governments are terrified of protesters. They'll do anything to stop us. They're especially worried about student protesters because they know that students are really passionate. They know that student protests against Vietnam changed the course of history."

The group claims the reason university holidays have been changed this year is to make sure students won't be on hand to protest in large numbers.

Apec Action members say they were visited at home by the police before the Trade Ministers' meetings earlier this year, and claim the protests they held at that time "were over-vigorously policed."

"We're the new kind of student," says Te Hira. "People think that students who grew up under the New Right regime can't see outside it but they're wrong. We can think and we believe in collective power. Shipley won't like what she sees."