Socialist Aotearoa leader Maaaaaaaadison visited the University of Auckland on the last day of the campaign to speak to students and staff.

Good afternoon everyone!

How awesome is it to be here together at the University of Auckland today, I am proud to be a graduate of this university. However, the last few months have made me not so proud to be a graduate here. It has been incredibly disappointing to see union staff members at this iconic institution and many others across Aotearoa be met with opposition from the university establishment in regards to their fight for a wage increase in line with inflation. Last week, myself and many other Socialist Aotearoa members stood in solidarity with the union strikers at universities all around the country.

Staff deserve better and universities can easily afford to keep up the pay of their workers with inflation and they deserve even more after the intense amount of work they had to do to keep our education system running strong and smoothly throughout the pandemic. These staff should not have to fight so hard for the bare minimum wage increase. That's why Socialist Aotearoa is fighting to cut the red tape on unions so that they can effectively deliver results for workers. We need to tip the balance of power in workplace negotiations back into the favour of workers rather than employers.

And to the next generation of leaders, our current and future University students, Socialist Aotearoa is fighting for tertiary education to be made free for all. This will allow everyone to be able to access what is becoming a necessity in the modern world no matter their background. There will also be government scholarships available for those that need assistance to attend university so that tertiary education is truly accessible to all that want it.

Thank you for your support and keep up the fight, I hope to be able to deliver the good news to you all on Saturday when Socialist Aotearoa wins this election and can #CutTheRedTape!