A tribute to Helen Kelly, and other campaign updates
Monthly roundup of ActionStation campaigns
We woke this morning to the news that Helen Kelly has died. Helen was a passionate advocate for the right of every working person to have a safe, fair, decent and dignified life.
Helen was brave, she was persistent, she was compassionate and she was effective — her tireless campaigning made a real difference to the lives of many New Zealanders. To the very end of her life, Helen continued to stand up for what she believed in, with great courage and generosity.
Many of us in the ActionStation community have been touched in some way by Helen’s work and her life, and some of us loved her as a colleague and a friend. Her belief in the value and power of everyday people standing and acting in union are at the very core of what ActionStation stands for, as a movement.
Today we want to honour Helen, both by continuing to campaign hard to secure a fairer, safer and more flourishing future for everyone in New Zealand, and by gathering your tributes to this incredible New Zealander — to honour her life, her work and her impact on our country.
Share your tribute to Helen on our custom-built website today. We will turn your tributes into a book that we will gift to Helen’s friends and whāna
CLICK HERE WRITE A TRIBUTE
In campaign news…
“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”
- James N. Watkins
Yesterday, our friends at Choose Clean Water and an amazing team of supporters from all over the country took the voices of tens of thousands of New Zealanders to Parliament to demand Government set “swimmable” as the minimum standard for freshwater in lakes, rivers and streams instead of “wadeable” which is the Government’s current position.
Swimmable as the bottom line would mean our lakes and rivers must be clean enough to swim in. Wadeable means that they can pose a “moderate risk” of infection if you are wading or boating in them.
In support of their presentation to MPs, ActionStation members crowdfunded enough money to design a slick report and giant billboard (pictured above) that features photos and comments from 1,434 of us enjoying our local rivers, lakes and streams.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT
The People’s Mental Health Review
This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week, and the hundreds of submissions coming into the People’s Mental Health Review suggest the thing New Zealanders need to be aware of this week is that the Public Mental Health System in New Zealand is slipping toward crisis.
We have been collecting people’s experiences of the mental health system for just under four weeks. We’ve had 350 stories and this week we published the first selection of these online.
It is our hope that through these stories, and with your support, we will spark a national conversation about how can we get our basic mental health treatment services available and functioning so all New Zealanders can once more know that when they or a family member needs help, it will be there.
CLICK HERE TO EXPLORE THE WEBSITE
The campaign for an ethical KiwiSaver
Thanks to the actions of tens of thousands of New Zealanders like you — KiwiSaver providers have dumped at least $109 million in weapon and tobacco investments.
This is what happens when great investigative journalism and people power combine.
This is incredible progress, and testament to our community’s ability to rise up at key moments. But — as you can see — the fact that Westpac, AMP, AON, ASB and Mercer are still able to hold out against such public pressure means we need to tighten up our laws and make these unethical investments illegal.
359 ActionStation members have already chipped in to fund independent polling and survey a nationally representative sample of New Zealanders for their views on KiwiSaver investments in weapons, bombs, landmines and missiles. The results of which show a whopping 86% of New Zealanders are opposed to weapons investments. Next week, we’ll be delivering our petition to Parliament calling for a total ban, so that investments like these can never be made again. Have you added your name yet?
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION
When lots of New Zealanders act together to stand up for what really matters to us, and to call for positive change, we give the people with the power to make those changes a reason to act. Sometimes that reason comes in the form of confirmation that we — the people — care enough to take action, sometimes in the form of a reminder that the people will stand by politicians and business people who have the courage to do the right thing. It always comes from the power of people acting together.
Thank you for standing together, for contributing your stories and photos, for writing submissions, for emailing your MPs, for chipping in for billboards and opinion polling, and above all else, for taking a stand, together, for what matters.
Mā te wā (bye for now),
Laura, Marianne, Nina and Franklin — your ActionStation team.
