Fridays For Future Aotearoa, Te Upoko Te Ika (Wellington, New Zealand)
We protest at the Parliament Lawn on Tuesdays, from 12.30 to 1.30pm. Join us to talk about your concerns and try catching a Government MP on the hop!
The EXTREME Hangout is an event designed to amplify the voices of global youth who will suffer the most from climate cop-outs. This year it’s on the beachfront at The Park Regency, Sharm El Sheikh.
There will be free (for under-35s) live speaker panel sessions held over 4 days Nov 8th to 11th at COP27.
To Hon Nanaia Mahuta
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Local Government and Associate Minister for Māori Development
Dear Minister,
We are Fridays For Future Te Upoko O Te Ika, with members stretching right around our south-east coast, including Whanganui A Tara.
Because we want a livable future for the oncoming generations, we have been holding weekly vigils since May 2019 to press the Government to take strong action on the Climate Emergency.
We were delighted to see that you have declared a moratium on deep sea mining in the waters of Aotearoa.
We know this will limit the large greenhouse gas emissions that will inevitably be produced by such activities and limit the ecological damage to ocean flora and fauna.
An ongoing ban will also support the ocean’s key role in our survival through absorbing CO2 and emitting oxygen. Undermining (literally) these roles that the oceans have always played will mean no future for us.
The world’s oceans are in dire peril. They are a dumping ground for the world’s toxic waste and plastic. Industrial unregulated overfishing has destroyed fish stocks, acidification from carbon dioxide has destroyed most of our coral reefs, and far too small an area has been set aside to allow fish stocks and ecosystems to regenerate.
So we ask you to do everything in your power to fight for our oceans, and put in place a permanent ban.
On behalf of all of us at Fridays For Future Te Upoko O Te Ika
This is Bernard Schofield’s petition urging the Government to hold fortnightly press conferences to inform the public on the country’s progress in reducing greenhouse gases.
We rarely hear of government policies on climate change, the greatest threat to the future well-being of our children and grandchildren-and indeed of the whole planet. In 2019 the Prime Minister said that the climate crisis is ‘this generation’s nuclear free moment’ and Government declared a climate emergency. Arguably, Government has failed to treat it as such. I believe it is time to take action which makes a vital and lasting difference and to hold Government to account.
Regular press conferences specifically about climate change will encourage reporters with specialised knowledge to attend and will give them the opportunity to question Government closely on this crucial issue.
If you haven’t yet signed it, you’ve only got until 8 November to do so!
Because on 8 November at 1pm, we are presenting the petition, on Bernard’s behalf, to Green MP Eugenie Sage at Parliament.
If you can, please come along and support us.
The Government has put out a discussion document seeking feedback on a final set of options for pricing agricultural emissions. Read it here.
The Green Party has produced a a submission guide with background information and key points to make it easy for you to have your say. View it here.
We have until 18 November 2022 to make a submission.
Earlier this month, two of our members took part in a Greenpeace action highlighting our government’s greenwashing.
In fact, they took the two lead roles – playing the parts of James Shaw and Jacinda Ardern, sloshing green paint all over a group of plump dairy cows and a milking shed. All on the Parliament lawn.
Gas-guzzling utes and SUVs are still big sellers. Personally I’d like those types of vehicles to be banned, but a good start would be a ban on advertising them!
Greenpeace has a petition urging the Advertising Standards Authority to consider the inclusion of a rule under Principle 1 of the Advertising Standards Code, that bans the advertisement of products, specifically vehicles such as gas-guzzling utes and SUVs, that are proven to contribute significantly to emissions of air pollutants in Aotearoa.
Voting in the 2022 local elections closes on Saturday 8 October.
If you haven’t voted yet, you can use GenZero’s Vote Local website to find out where the various candidates stand on climate justice.
This is a Google doc that lists upcoming climate justice-related events, including our Friday lunchtime protests.
We alternate between Midland Park (to put pressure on Fonterra) and the Parliament lawn (where our lawmakers are).
Here’s a schedule for the next few Fridays, so you know where to find us (updated 2/12/22).
| Date | Protest location |
| 2/12/2022 | Midland Park |
| 9/12/2022 | Parliament Lawn (if weather is bad, we’ll go to Midland Park instead) |
| 16/12/2022 | Midland Park |
| 23/12/2022 | Parliament Lawn (if weather is bad, we’ll go to Midland Park instead) |
| 30/12/2022 | tbc (to be confirmed) |
| 6/1/2023 | tbc |
| 13/1/2023 | tbc |
| 20/1/2023 | tbc |
We weren’t lucky with the weather, but hey, that’s Wellington for you.
It was so great to see so many groups there to support the school students with their climate protest. They included the PPTA, an anarchist group from Vic Uni, at least two Marxist/socialist organisations and others.
It was a pleasure to support School Strike for Climate Wellington in this event and our admiration for their organisers is immense.
Check out a YouTube video of Caz’s speech.
The New Zealand climate strikes in the media:
Estimated 200 students rally outside of Parliament a part of School Strike for Climate (NewsHub)
Thousands of students take part in school strike for climate: ‘We want a future on the planet’ (RNZ)
Wellington student on why she’s taking part in climate strike (RNZ)
Students flock to climate change rallies (RNZ)
Thousands of students take part in school strike for climate: ‘We want a future on the planet’
Photos: Hundreds turn out for climate strikes across NZ (TVNZ – some great photos here!)
Aotearoa kicks off a worldwide climate change strike (The Spinoff – mostly about the Auckland strike)
Campaigners in Ōtautahi join nationwide School Strike for Climate protests (The Spinoff – mostly about the event in Christchurch)
Heather du Plessis-Allan should be ashamed of how she bullied my daughter (The Spinoff)