Hopeful stories from June 2019
People powered change
Happy Matariki ActionStation whānau!
For many Māori, Matariki heralds the start of a new year. It is a time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.
In that spirit, we’ve gathered a range of stories from across the motu (island, country) of communities taking action for economic fairness, whānau (family, community) wellbeing, inclusive and diverse communities and a thriving Papatūānuku (earth mother). We hope you enjoy it!
Rangatahi (young people) are rising up for a healthy planet
Following the success of two powerful nationwide strikes, students from the School Strike 4 Climate movement recently attended a Wellington Council meeting alongside representatives of Generation Zero and Extinction Rebellion to speak passionately about their wish for a healthy planet and future.
Wellington Council immediately agreed to declare a climate emergency. These declarations are a way of Councils acknowledging there is urgent work to do to transform our economy to one that puts people and planet first.
But as we know, actions speak louder than words. Some councils are walking the talk, for example as they declared an emergency, Nelson City Council allocated $754,500 to climate solutions.
Students around the country are using our petition platform OurActionStation to target each local council to demand action for the planet.
Timi Barabas and Bridie Case-Miller are Hamilton-based students who went to speak to their Council last week about the need for urgent climate action. As a result, Hamilton councillors have asked for a report on what making such a declaration will mean before committing.
“Climate change is something that was created by us, and it is something that can be solved by us.” ―Timi Barabas
On Wednesday Aotea College student Piata Hohaia went to Porirua Council with an ActionStation petition to ask for a commitment to urgent climate action — which they did!
“The council passed our petition! We didn’t think we would get it through at the start but we got the best outcome we could ask for!!” ― Piata Hohaia
Young people throughout Aotearoa are showing that we can use our citizen power to make sure our councillors are working towards a future where people and nature can flourish.
You can stand with our rangatahi and sign the petition targeting your local council here.
If there’s no current petition in your rōhe (area, region) and your council hasn’t yet declared a climate emergency, you could also lead a campaign in your area! Reply to this email to find out more and we’ll connect you with the School Strike 4 Climate crew.
If none of those options work for you, here are two other ways you can stand with rangatahi for the planet and a healthy climate future:
- Read and sign the Open Letter from the Youth of Aotearoa which will be delivered to Government later in the year.
- Plan ahead and join the student-inspired Earth Strike for climate on Friday 27 September.
Aotearoa Water Action (AWA) are asking the government to #PushPause on plastic waste and water bottling
Wai (water) is precious and essential to life. But our local and national politicians are still allowing corporations to set up and expand their water bottling schemes to make a quick profit from the exploitation of our rivers, lakes and aquifers.
A group of Bay of Plenty locals outraged by the carelessness of producing thousands more plastic bottles filled with fresh Otakiri spring water have teamed up with AWA to demand a moratorium on all new water bottling consents and for an independent inquiry.
An inquiry would consider the environmental damage of water bottling projects, the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and review the process under the Resource Management Act which allows bottling projects.
“This call will be a game changer if politicians are held to account and listen — instead of fighting each bottling application the whole approach can be reconsidered.” ―Heidi Hughes, Bay of Plenty local working with AWA
Will you add your name to AWA’s petition?
Victory (for now) for Foulden Maar!
It’s a victory for now for the campaigners standing up to save the 23-million-year-old crater lake with a treasure trove of fossils in Otago, Foulden Maar. The company hoping to expand its mine in the maar went bust after combined public and media efforts built overwhelming pressure on the company’s application to mine.
When it became public knowledge the maar was under threat a group of concerned volunteers formed the Save Foulden Maar group and started a petition that gained 10,000 signatures. Feature stories from Newsroom led to increased scrutiny on the company and the real value of the maar as a place unique in the world.
Geologists at Otago University called for the preservation of the maar and all the attention pressured the council to remove its support.
The actions of our community, volunteers, journalists and experts who all care came together successfully to stop this corporate destruction.
The campaigners’ focus is now turning to bringing Foulden Maar into public ownership so it can be protected forever. They’ll be speaking with the community, lawyers, and decision-makers to figure out the best way to do this.
Keep in touch with the campaign by signing the petition or joining the Facebook page.
Celia delivered her powerful petition for kids to get more time in nature
Celia Hogan from Little Kiwis Nature Play says we are all better people when we spend quality time outdoors and in nature.
“We owe it to our mental health, our physical health and our general well-being to spend time in nature and allow it to heal us.” ―Celia Hogan
Celia is leading the call to allow ‘bush kindys’ for kids to connect with nature and each other. At the moment the law makes it difficult to run programmes where children are learning, playing and exploring outdoors.
Over 5,000 of us signed her petition and this week teachers, kids, parents and politicians (including National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters) attended a colourful petition delivery event at Parliament for nature-based education.
You can still sign the petition to get updates and watch Celia talking to Breakfast host Hayley Holt to explain what bush kindys are all about.
Māori lawyers, midwives, and social workers are uniting to say #HandsOffOurTamariki
An open letter that has been signed by more than 16,000 New Zealanders is calling for the government to stop stealing Māori children. The letter was launched just days after a Newsroom video was released that shows Oranga Tamariki staff attempting to forcefully remove a baby from its mother in a maternity ward.
The open letter was initiated by a group called Hands Off Our Tamariki and among the signatories are a range of prominent wāhine Māori (Māori women) including lawyer Khylee Quince, Professor Jacinta Ruru, social worker Paora Moyle, midwife Jean Te Huia and researcher Leonie Pihama.
The open letter calls for the government to put an immediate halt to the taking of tamariki Māori and for the Ministry for Children be overhauled and restructured in line with Kaupapa Māori and strengths-based approaches that ensure tamariki remain connected to their whānau.
A rally has also been organised by the group for Tuesday 30 July at Parliament.
You can also make a koha (donation) to help cover the costs of the rally.
Alongside this open letter, two other petitions have been launched by members of the ActionStation community related to this important kaupapa (cause, issue).
One is being led by a new advocacy group called Whānau First who support parents battling for their rights to be with their children in disputes with Oranga Tamariki. It calls for an urgent Royal Commission of Inquiry to examine all aspects of the Government agency’s operation and the legislation under which it was established.
The second was launched by Carolyn Hopa and calls for the name Oranga Tamariki to be removed. Māori is an oral tradition and culture where words really matter. You can’t take the words without also embracing the worldviews and what they mean. Oranga means wellbeing or wellness and CYFS have proven they are anything but. If you agree and would like to sign Carolyn’s petition, you can do so here. You can also watch an interview with our Director Laura talking about this petition with Māori television here.
If you would like to learn more about this important kaupapa, here are some recommendations:
- Yes, we are the Stolen Generation by Aaron Smale
- Stop trampling on the mana of children by Khylee Quince
- WATCH: New Zealand’s own taken generation by Melanie Reid from Newsroom
- The Māori problem by Aaron Smale
- Uplifting children is not a Māori problem. It’s a colonisation problem by Tina Ngata
- The answers were there in 1988 by Neville Baker
- Oranga Tamariki — a tipping point? By Ian Hyslop
Our army of keyboard warriors who promote love over hate is growing
Online tools have made it possible to communicate easily with friends and family around the world, sell and purchase goods and services, enrol to vote, raise billions for charitable causes or start-up businesses, and even hail a ride or meal to your front door. We live in an incredible time.
The downside to this unparalleled information exchange and connectedness is that the internet also provides a powerful and relatively cheap way for groups and individuals to spread hate, fear, abuse and mis/dis/mal-information across time and space, and without transparency.
In response to this, our Volunteer Coordinator Ann has been training and organising volunteers over the past 12 months to engage with strangers who leave racist comments online to see if they can facilitate more caring, thoughtful and informed dialogue.
The programme is called Tauiwi Tautoko (which means non-Māori people acting in support of Māori people) and runs for 10 weeks, weaving together online training and in-person gatherings to provide volunteers with the tools, community and courage to participate in online conversations about race with evidence-based listening and messaging techniques.
“Tauiwi Tautoko has given me so much hope by seeing from real practical work that with small acts of compassion we can overcome the hate.” ― Amy (2018 participant)
Research shows that ‘calling people out’ can limit their capacity for reason, empathy, and self-reflection. Yet call-out culture is prominent online, increasing polarisation. Research also shows that fact-checking and myth-busting does not work for shifting hearts and minds.
Because of all this, the techniques used in this programme are informed by experts in restorative justice, values-based messaging, and active listening.
You can read/watch more about why we are doing this work here:
- The People’s Report on Online Hate, Harassment and Abuse by ActionStation
- The online exodus of women and minorities by Leonie Hayden
- Why social media is not a safe place for indigenous people by Laura O’Connell Rapira
- WATCH: Laura and Emily speak to Breakfast TV about our Tauiwi Tautoko project
- Facebook and Stuff are allowing racism to flourish on their platforms by Laura O’Connell Rapira
We’re working with others to make sure everyone in New Zealand has a living income
The ActionStation community has a shared vision of everyone having what they need to thrive. We know Aotearoa New Zealand can be a place where not only are people’s basic needs met, but each of us can learn, create, contribute and participate in our communities.
Sadly, the latest Stats NZ report found almost a third of us ‘do not have enough’ or have ‘only just enough’ income to meet our everyday needs.
This echoes findings from our own research with Child Poverty Action Group in our Welfare For Wellbeing report. We found that 84 percent of the people we surveyed do not currently receive enough income to live with dignity. When we asked people on benefits what they would do with an extra $72.50 per week the answers were sobering:
“[It would mean] not having to worry about using the heater at night, washing nappies in a hot wash, affording the food we need for our gluten and dairy intolerance, having the petrol money to get to counselling.” ― Ursula, Sole Parent Support
“I could have a checkup with my dentist.” ― Lynda-Maree, Supported Living Payment
Really basic stuff.
The Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) have created a roadmap for how our welfare system could be transformed from its current status as a poverty trap, to the supportive mana-enhancing system New Zealanders need. The WEAG report identified 120 changes that are needed to realise this vision, but the government has only adopted three recommendations so far.
So along with Child Poverty Action Group, FinCap, NZCCSS, Auckland Action Against Poverty and The Workshop, we’ve made a plan to show our MPs that people across the country are passionate about breaking the constraints which are locking many individuals, children and families in this country in poverty.
We’ve identified the politicians who have the power to bring more of the recommendations to life, and we are going to run trainings in Auckland (West, Central, and South) and Wellington for people willing to meet with these MPs to urge them to support a living income for everyone.
Here are three ways you can support this campaign:
- Sign our petition with Child Poverty Action Group here.
- Donate to support our MP trainings here.
- Sign up to attend an MP training here.
Finally, our Director Laura wanted to share something she recently posted on her personal Facebook page.
We think it’s important to celebrate the glimpses of kindness and common humanity our world so desperately needs. Here is what she posted:
We talk a lot about self-care as the solution to burnout. If we all just went to bed on time, drank enough lemon water, used a bullet journal, and went for a run then things would be alright.
Don’t get me wrong, those things probably help, but in a world of enduring colonial racism and patriarchy, it doesn’t add up to enough.
We need to be talking about, and living, collective care too.
Tonight a person who I’d never met but who had heard through a mutual friend that I was having a mamae (hurtful, sore heart, sad, sorrowful) week made me enough vegan kai (food) for 10+ meals: lentil pie, pumpkin soup and banana bread.
No money exchanged, just the recognition from one human to another that this life thing is hard and we all need a little help sometimes to get through.
Be gentle with yourself and others whānau. You never know what others are going through.
Happy Matariki to one and all!
Laura, Eliot, and Ruby, on behalf of the ActionStation team.
