Despite the poor weather, more than 100 students celebrated Womens Suffrage Day with a march culminating in a rally at Pigeon Park

As well as celebrating the day women received equal voting rights, speakers at the rally warned those attending that in terms of equality, women had not come as far as they could have and that the rights gained were in great danger of being [unclear: itiled] away.

The main regression was seen to be the [unclear: reactionary] "back to the home" measures on abortion legislation, Domestic Purpose cuts and lay-offs for married women who then would not be entitled to the unemployment benefit.

Lisa Sacksen (NZUSA President) chaired the meeting and gave the opening address. In it she linked the attacks on the rights of women to attacks on the rights of other groups in the community which she said was a general strategy by Government to get their own way by dividing the community. Lisa went on to say that the path he country is taking is definitely towards fascism and that all groups especially threatened by it especially women) must unite together instead of fighting issue by issue, group by group.

Women were the most oppressed group overall because not only were they subject to normal oppressions, but also that they had no right to control their own bodies. In this respect, women had to fight to repeal the abortion laws.

Working Womens Alliance speaker, Christine [unclear: Gilleliespie], spoke mainly about women who were particularly vulnerable to pressures brought on by the Government. Women who have little money or power find it almost impossible to have abortions. In one case referred to, a woman after having ten children was not even aware that she could get an abortion in New Zealand.

The rich and powerful women on the other hand could get abortions relatively easily in New Zealand or Australia.

The WWA speaker pointed out that economic factors were as much against women gaining full equality as those of prejudice.

If you look at the economic and attitudinal trends of the Government, however, it seems as if they want to roll back the wheels of time with their wage cut-unemployment policies and their statements on womens role (Post Sept. 19 : Mr Gill was reported saying that the essential role of the women was still one of wife, mother and home-maker).

Other speakers to support the rally came from ALRANZ, WONAAC, Family Planning Association and the Humanists Society

The rally was not dampened by the rain and motions were passed which pledged those attending to further action when the Bill gets its second reading in approximately three weeks.

It was encouraging to see VUWSA not only rallying students around its good policy to support womens rights and oppose the Royal Commission Bill, but also taking the message downtown to where it really counts.

All in all, and with the help of the Golden Horn sound gear and the VUWSA/NZUSA Printing Company, it was a success although it was hardly a 'mass' rally.

— David Murray.

At the inaugural meeting of the organisation to oppose the SIS Bill (now before parliament) a motion was unanimously passed to aim to completely throw out the Bill in its entirety.

More than 200 people attended the meeting — the Rimu Room of the YWCA was standing room only. Present were representatives of countless organisations — unions, student organisations, church groups, women groups and so on.

Walter Scott, Chairman of the Council for Civil Liberties, chaired the meeting and gave the opening address. Ever since the formation of the Council, he said, there has been organised struggle specifically on the protection of democratic civil rights. The SIS Bill, he emphasised, was an infringement of these rights.

He pointed out the omnipresence of the SIS be assuring everyone that, without a doubt, there was at least one agent present in the meeting. After everyone had stopped looking around to locate Mr X, Walter Scott pointed out that under the new law it would be a crime to expose such an agent under any circumstances.

Jim Delahunty spoke next and stressed that the proposed Bill was a direct attack on New Zealand's 200,000 State Servants. Under the legislation, any state servant could be forced to carry out work in SIS operations without the right to tell their union official or anyone else. This in effect paralyses the state unions from protecting their members and renders them helpless to act in the interests in their members.

Speaking third was Pat Kelly, President of the Wellington Trades Council. He emphasised that the SIS legislation was a sign of the times — a symptom of a sick capitalist system in its death agonies. An example of the broadness of the changes inherent in the Bill were that organisations such as the FoL, and therefore their affiliated unions, which had the attainment of a socialist society written into their constitution were, under the new provisions, defined as terrorist organisations and would come under the direct surveillance of under cover SIS agents.

It was then the turn of the individuals to speak from the floor. The spontaneous outrage at the Bill was very dominant. For many people, it seemed, the SIS Bill was the last straw. Many made references to the harsh measures of the past two years. Action against women, unions, over- stayers and the Maori people were repeatedly mentioned.

But it was the neo-fascist measures of the Government to give the SIS far greater powers that attracted the main attention of the meeting.

A consensus seemed to be that the Bill, if passed would be more violent than the 'violence' that the Bill was supposed to stop.

Motions were carried which called on the Labour Party and the FoL to condemn the Bill and support those groups fighting it. The Labour Party have been very quiet up till now — obviously something that annoyed many people present.

Other motions empowered the committee, comprising around 20 people from the meeting, to plan action to achieve the widest possible grouping to oppose the reactionary legislation.

— David Murray.