Some of what the CWGer was saying about the International Women's Day committee in Auckland is rather askew:

The CWGer wrote:
>Crucial to the success of IWD is the way it brings together different parts of the left, and also challenges the trade union movement for support. The
IWD committees are open to all, and they provide a place where different analyses of and strategies to oppose working women's oppression can be tested.

The IWD committee is not open to all. In Auckland there is a debate going on inside the committee around whether the committee should be women only. This is the wish of some feminists.

A number of us in the committee have argued against banning men. If we ban men we are asserting that they are the problem, not capitalism, not the system, not the government - not the main forces of power. A ban on working
class men also negates the role of the working class in IWD.

There has also been discussion around keeping the focus of the committee on working class issues and in this sense the committee is not open to all women. For instance, we are not looking to unite with female representatives of the
ruling class. The Marxists in the committee are putting forward the argument that our interests lie with working class men in order to overthrow the system to really achieve liberation.


>In Auckland the CWG has volunteered to cover the printing costs of IWD educational material like leaflets and posters, and we're looking to get involved in supporting the event in other ways too. Support gives us a
framework in which to put our arguments across.

This is interesting, because a woman on the committee told us she had done a lot of web work for CWG and in return for this she asked that they provide some photocopying for the committee. Isn't it undermining her hard work and *her* donation to the committee by claiming this is *support* from CWG?

However, this year we are in the fortunate position of having a number of organisations and individuals donating photocopying facilities for the IWD committee.

Daphna