The Roger Award 2001

Open Air Event

Street Theatre..Live Music..Video

Freyberg Square, High Street, Auckland City

Friday 12 April 7.30pm

For the first time the award will be announced in Auckland at an open-air multi-media event with live music, street theatre and video in Freyberg Square, High Street, central Auckland on Friday 12 April at 7.30pm.

Speakers at the event will be Murray Horton of CAFCA and Maire Leadbeater.

Globalization means the increasing domination of the global economy by transnational corporations (TNCs). Nowhere is this more true than in New Zealand, where they exercise an increasing influence on the economy.

From politicians of all stripes, "experts" and the media (itself owned by a handful of TNCs) the public is constantly bombarded with the corporate agenda. Namely, that what is Good For Big Business is Good For New Zealand. We say that it ain't necessarily so. The Roger Award holds a mirror up to Big Business and exposes the lie that unfettered corporate power is the best - and only - way.

We asked the public to nominate the TNC that has the most negative impact in New Zealand in each or all of the following fields:

unemployment

monopoly

profiteering

abuse of workers/conditions

political interference

ideological crusades

environmental damage

cultural imperialism

impact on:

tangata whenua

women

health and safety of workers and the public.

The six finalists are:

Tranz Rail

Monsanto

Mobil

United Water

British American Tobacco (BAT)

Carter Holt Harvey

The winner(s) will be announced at the open air Roger Award Event in Freyberg Square, Auckland amidst live music, street theatre and video presentations on Friday 12 April from 7.30 -9.30pm.

The Roger Award is part of our challenge to the "Centre-Left" Government - are you going to do anything to control and roll back the power of our real, unelected Government, the transnational corporations?

The annual Roger Award for the Worst Transnational Corporation operating in Aotearoa/New Zealand is organized by the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) and GATT Watchdog.

For details of the Auckland event, contact Jim Gladwin at greenleaf@ak.planet.gen.nz