NEW ZEALAND'S
PEOPLE POWERED
PETITION PLATFORM

Synthetic Nitrogen fertiliser props up industrial dairying. It is used to grow too much grass for too many cows, polluting our rivers and warming the climate. But we don’t need it. There is a better way to farm and New Zealand can lead the world in practising it. Together, we can move towards regenerative farming. A way of farming that works with nature, not against it. But to do that, we need to get rid of the enablers of the old, destructive system. We need to ban synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

Our nation’s global reputation relies on a government that puts the health of its environment and people's wellbeing first. Spending millions of dollars from the nation’s pension fund on farms that practice Winter Crop Grazing is one of the most unethical choices the Superannuation investment fund has EVER made! In contrast to traditional grazing, winter crop grazing restricts animals to small patches of land for long periods, which quickly turn into mud. This practice causes freshwater pollution, animal suffering and soil degradation. Freshwater pollution: Nitrate leaches into our aquifers at over 10 times the rate of normal grazing, destroying groundwater for future use and remaining for hundreds of years. Phosphate- and pathogen-rich effluent runs off into streams, rivers, lakes and estuaries, making them un-swimmable, and killing ecosystems. Animal suffering: The land these animals are grazed on turns to mud, which leaves animals with nowhere dry to rest and give birth. They often end up licking mud to get water. Soil degradation: Winter crop grazing destroys the soil and releases tonnes of stored carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating climate breakdown. This practice is heavily dependant on pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilisers which are causing severe decline in biodiversity and human health. This is no way to be ‘investing for the next generation’. Please sign and share this petition with your networks Email the minister responsible: Hon Grant Robertson, Minister of Finance. g.robertson@ministers.govt.nz Tell him to; Stop investing any of the New Zealand Super Fund into farms that are winter crop grazing, divest from any that continue, and find sustainable alternatives immediately!

There is poo on our beaches! Auckland's waterways and beaches are seriously polluted by stormwater regularly contaminated by sewage, trade waste, heavy metals, toxins, chemicals, and oils thanks to years of inaction by the council, and fear of rate rises. We need urgent action so that New Zealanders can enjoy our urban waterways and beaches without fear of sickness or injury or swimming with poo and we protect our freshwater and marine organisms from pollution and destruction. We need action now, not in 10 years time. Give us back our beaches, estuaries, lagoons streams and rivers! This campaign is about raising peoples’ awareness of what is going on under our feet with inadequate infrastructure to cope with climate change and the massive intensification of Tamaki Makaurau, the Auckland region. So far there is almost a sole emphasis on rural areas and the problems intensive farming is causing to our rural waterways and lakes. This is really important. but so is the disgraceful state of many urban waterways and beaches where people are now regularly being told they cannot swim. These problems have been neglected and overlooked for too long. This is not the Aotearoa NZ we want our children to grow up in. We have to act now for our own planet's survival, our fresh water and marine life marine, and our children's futures. No more sewage or contaminated stormwater in our backyards and beach environments. We need to work together to clean this up - Māori, Pakeha, diverse communities, churches, community organisations, environmental groups, businesses, political parties, schools, and individuals. Awhina mai!