Cigarette butts are the most commonly discarded piece of waste worldwide. It is estimated that 1.69 BILLION pounds of butts wind up as toxic trash each year, creating an enormous environmental, health, and economic burden. Contrary to popular belief, cigarette butts are NOT biodegradable! Cigarette butt waste is a huge environmental issue, with a global impact -- it is both unsightly and unhealthy. Cigarette butts leach toxins into the water and kill or injure various forms of wildlife. In addition, the plastic parts of cigarette butts can be ingested by fish, birds, whales and other marine animals. According to the Surfrider Foundation, cigarette butts are the most frequent item collected during the group's beach cleanups. The good news is that smokefree beach laws help reduce butts on beaches by 45% according to the Audubon Society. Auckland Council is reviewing their Smokefree policy in August and deciding whether or not they should make beaches Smokefree. Sign the petition to let Council know that you support Smokefree beaches. http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/planspoliciesprojects/councilpolicies/pages/smokefreepolicy.aspx#smokefree http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/planspoliciesprojects/councilpolicies/Documents/reviewofcouncilssmokefreepolicyfindingsreportjuly2016.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjX954J1zjI Watercare is proposing to build a new massive water treatment plant in Manuka Road and Woodlands Park Road, Titirangi, next to the existing plant. The construction of this plant will destroy more than 1000 trees over four hectares of significant native mature bush – including a large part of the very popular Clark Bush Track, bring an industrial sized plant to within four metres of local residents and put untold strain on roading and other infrastructure in surrounding communities including Titirangi, Woodlands Park, Waima, Laingholm, Glen Eden and beyond. The ecological assessment of the proposed site has been limited to minimal vegetation and bird count surveys, with no assessment of the other flora and fauna that might be present, including bats, lizards or insects, and no considerations of impacts on fresh water ecology. If this project goes ahead in Titirangi, it would be an ecological and social disaster, an insult to the environmental pioneers that helped create the essential character of Titirangi and an absolute disgrace for the green image of New Zealand. Phil Goff promised Aucklanders to protect our native heritage trees. Now he has the chance to stand by his word when both our native bush and community are under threat. We call on him and Auckland Council to reject the environmental consent to clear the bush for a Water Treatment Plant in Titirangi and send Watercare back to the drawing board. Help us stop Watercare now. For additional information, please check our Facebook page and website below: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TitirangiPG/ https://protecttitirangi.org/

A recently released report from NIWA showed that the Government's proposed swimming standards were worse than those from the 2014 policy. Despite the Government claiming to have a goal of swimmable rivers by 2040, their policy weakened human health standards and only applies to 10% of the whole country's waterways. This won't solve our problems. It will only make them worse. Please use this form to make an official submission to the Ministry for the Environment's National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. Submissions are open now until 5pm Thursday 25 May. New Zealanders have asked the Government and the Ministry for the Environment again and again for a genuine swimmable bottom line for rivers & lakes. Aotearoa New Zealand has serious problems of freshwater contamination and polluted rivers and lakes. We must take steps to stop this situation from getting worse and to begin to turn this around. The first step is to write strong protection for rivers and lakes into our country's freshwater policy. We can do this now and, in doing so, it will influence the work of local councils, industry and government to improve freshwater management so that rivers and lakes are protected for all New Zealanders. The OECD wrote in its 2017 Environmental Performance Review that New Zealand is reaching environmental limits and that freshwater pollution is one of areas of degradation that threatens the health of our people, our environment and our economy. As Sir Peter Gluckman, the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor said in a recent interview on his report on the state of the nation's freshwater, "The reality is we cannot keep going as we have been." He's right and the public is right. We have to change and the first step for improving the health of our rivers and lakes is this freshwater policy. It is the document on which decisions around the country will be made. Let's make it the best and the strongest it can be for the sake of this beautiful country. [1] https://niwa.co.nz/news/niwa-technical-background-report-for-mfe-clean-water-swimmability-proposals-for-rivers [2] http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/microbiological-quality-jun03.pdf

Aucklanders deserve a beautiful city free from toxic cancer-causing chemicals, where we can trust our officials to provide a safe and healthy environment for all residents. But glyphosate, which is sprayed onto our roadsides where our children walk to school, and our parks where they play, is dangerous to our health and the environment. Whilst, unbelievably, Auckland Council is proposing in its latest budget to use MORE chemicals in parks across the region (2), Auckland Transport continues to require the use of this probable carcinogen to control vegetation on the roadsides of the Waitakere, Rodney (and Hibiscus and Bays) and South Auckland regions – exposing a third of Aucklanders, or 500,000 people. BUT the other two thirds of Aucklanders – the one million residents of urban North Shore and Auckland City areas - have enjoyed nonchemical vegetation control for 20 years with methods which are just as effective. Some nonchemical systems now COST NO MORE than spraying with glyphosate. So why aren’t these safe, effective methods being used for the whole of Auckland? It’s ludicrous!! The International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organisation) ruled in March 2015 that glyphosate was a probable human carcinogen based on evidence that linked the chemical to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and extensive DNA and chromosome damage in humans; as well as tumours of the kidney, pancreas, skin and blood vessels and DNA and chromosome damage in animals. To continue to expose residents to the adverse health effects of this cancer-causing chemical is immoral and a violation of our Human Rights - especially when viable, safe and cost-effective alternatives are available and have been used successfully in Auckland for 20 years. We deserve better than this! Our city should be clean and toxin-free. Help us to ban glyphosate – NOW - for a fair, safe and healthy Auckland City. (1) http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf (2) http://shapeauckland.co.nz/media/1159/section-55-parks-community-and-lifestyle.pdf

Our tamariki deserve to be safe. The Kaiti Mall is almost directly across the road from Kaiti School, and children are often at the mall. By reducing the opportunities for people to consume alcohol we reduce the risk of exposing our most precious and vulnerable asset to alcohol harm.

This is important because it will reduce emissions that New Zealand has set in place in the Paris Agreement and will overall create healthier rivers, reduce the carbon and methane emissions, and will force responsibility on the Dairy Industry.

We love our pure water and want to keep it.

Freedom camping at Rotary Park would directly interfere with other many uses of the Park enjoyed by locals. It would be open to vandalism of sensitive infrastructure and park resources. It would also be a cost to rate-payers with cleaning and security needed constantly. It would mean an increase in traffic and noise and should not be allowed in a residential area where it is surrounded by properties.

How this issue affects you, your children, our country, and our oceans world-wide: Plastic bags impact our irreplaceable environment here in New Zealand when they are produced, when they are disposed to landfill, and especially when they are littered. Once littered, plastic bags can find their way onto our streets and parks and into our waterways. They are a large portion of the litter in our streams and can take a lifetime to fully break down. Once in the environment, plastic bags are often ingested by animals, clogging their insides which results in sickness or death, a horrible truth that is easily preventable. Other animals or birds become entangled in plastic bags and drown or can’t fly as a result. Our Ministry for the Environment also say that plastic bags exacerbate flood events when they clog pipes and block drains (1). ] Not only does unregulated and uncurbed plastic bag use harm our environment it also harms our Clean Green NZ brand which is estimated to earn us around $20 billion a year (2). New Zealand is already lagging behind many countries/places who have already Banned Plastic bags: California, Portland, Mexico City, Dehli, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Sydneys Oyster Bay for example (3). Plastic bags also contain many toxins and chemicals including BPA which has direct links to cancer. They are made from oil – each bag uses about the same amount that would drive a car 115 metres (4). Now, I know that by now you are probably horrified by the impact that these unrecyclable, toxic, animal­-trapping objects are having, but, here is a fun­-fact to tip you over the edge and get you signing and sharing this people powered petition! “The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.” (5) That is a lot of unneeded waste isn’t it? So all of you tidy Kiwis and eco friendly people lets put New Zealand on the map as a leader in this worldwide movement! BAN THE BAG! 1) http://www.mfe.govt.nz/waste/types­waste/plasticbags 2) http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/8023412/100­Pure­Fantasy­Living­up­to­our­brand 3) http://people.howstuffworks.com/how­many­cities­have­a­ban­on­plastic­bags.htm 4) http://plasticshoppingbagfree.org.nz/facts­and­figures). 5) http://www.mfe.govt.nz/waste/types­waste/plastic­bags

Lake Pukaki is identified as a Site of Natural Significance in the Mackenzie District Plan. It has features that can be viewed from the visitor center and carpark that are designated as Outstanding Natural Landscape, and in a submission to the Plan Change 13 Council hearings, Lake Pukaki was identified as a site of cultural significance to Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu. It is a mecca for tourists visiting New Zealand, with an estimated 1,000,000+ visitors each year stopping at the car park and visitors center at the southern end of the lake to view and photograph the Te Wainuipounamu World Heritage area, including Aoraki Mt Cook which is located at the northern end of the lake. This experience is culturally significant, peaceful and spectacularly beautiful. Protect our beautiful lake and ensure it remains pure and pristine for all New Zealanders. 1. Lake Pukaki is a very spiritual lake to the Waitaha, Ngai Tahu, and all of us, who have been moved by it, touched by it and listened to it. As such, it deserves our protection, our guardianship, and our greatest respect. 2. At the south end of Lake Pukaki, one can view the sublime beauty of the lake and New Zealand’s highest mountain at the head of it. It is one of the most stunning sights in the country and it is seen from the south end of Lake Pukaki, with the Ben Ohau Range alongside. 3. Nowhere else is this view possible in New Zealand. National and International photography groups and millions of others come to visit the Mackenzie just for this view. 4. It is the jewel in the crown of the Mackenzie Country and its pristine, ever-changing views are spellbinding to locals and visitors alike. Millions of visitors from New Zealand and overseas flock here for that view. 5. Noisy vessels in this picture plying the edges of this dangerous lake, where strong winds whip up with little warning, and particularly in the south end where people stop, will destroy this for local and overseas visitors. 6. It would be sensible and fair of the MDC to ensure that tourism activities in this sensitive landscape were appropriate and fitted well with what is already here and what is driving millions to include this area in their itinerary. Also New Zealanders flock to this tranquil area for similar reasons. 7. The Mackenzie is not Queenstown. But Queenstown restricts certain activities in areas that disturb others. So does the Department of Conservation. Areas of the Mackenzie such as the Hooker Track and the Hooker Valley are designated Quiet Zones, free from motorised transport, boats and aircraft, so people can experience the beautiful quiet. It is not to say that the Mackenzie shouldn’t have motorised activities, but this should be in an area that is already accepted as having the motorised forms of transport. 8. Lakes in NZ have become severely polluted due to boat traffic on pristine lakes. Commercial activities bring more danger of pollution.] Lake Wakatipu and Lake Wanaka are experiencing severe problems. Thankfully, neither Lake Pukaki or Lake Tekapo are afflicted by this, which is almost certainly because of the absence of COMMERCIAL boat traffic. We must all work to protect our water in these pristine lakes. 9. Motorised commercial operation of craft on Lake Pukaki would do great harm to the tourism industry because the Mackenzie is about the space, the night sky, the tranquillity, the stunning quiet, and the beauty of our pristine, spiritual lakes and our spectacular Southern Alps. These are all activities that complement our natural beauty, without intruding on what others have already created and are the best option for this stunning part of the country, particularly around Lake Pukaki. 10. Lake Pukaki is becoming increasingly valuable as a tourism attraction, simply due to its beauty and space, leading up to Aoraki and also due to the increasing scarcity of pure, unpolluted lakes in our country. There is nothing else in the world, or in our country, like it. There is only one Aoraki Mount Cook and only one lake leading up to it. Tourism needs to be sustainable and allowing commercial motorized activity on Lake Pukaki will soon destroy the very thing that people come to see. 11. Visitors here escape from their increasingly overcrowded countries and gaze upon our mountains and lakes, feeling a great sense of great calm in doing so. Kiwis do too. Let’s keep it that way for them, for this will become increasingly precious and will continue to be the magical drawing card to the Mackenzie providing we protect our beautiful lake and ensure it remains pure and pristine for all New Zealanders.

This letter has been endorsed by Iwi and hapu of the eastern seaboard of Aotearoa. It is our ancestral waters that are under threat... We invite all New Zealanders, and indeed everyone anywhere who cares about the future of the planet, to sign on with us. Nā mātou, Ngā Hapū o Te Tairāwhiti tae atu ki Te Tauihu o te Waka Te Whanau a Tapuaeururangi Te Whanau a Kahu Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou Te Whanau a Te Aotaki Te Whanau a Te Aopare Te Whanau a Hunaara Te Whanau a Te Aotaihi Te Whanau a Hinerupe Te Whanau a Hinerupe ki Waiapu Te Whanau a Rakaimataura Ngati Putaanga Te Whanau a Tapuhi Te Whanau a Karuwai Ngai Tane Te Whanau a Takimoana Te Whanau a Hunaara ki te tonga Te Whanau a Rerewa Ngati Hokopu Ngati Horowai Te Whanau a Uruhonea Rakaimataura Te Whanau a Pokai Te Whanau a Hineauta Ngati Rangi Te Whanau a Umuariki Ruataupare Ki Tuparoa Ngai Tangihaere Te Whanau a Hinetapora Ngati Hinekehu Ngai Rauru Ngati Uepohatu Te Aitanga a Mate Te Aowera Te Whanau a Hinekehu Takutai Kaitiaki Trust Te Whanau a Iritekura Ngai Taharora Te Whanau a Ruataupare ki Tokomaru Ngati Hau ki Anaura Nga Ariki Kaiputahi Ngati Oneone Wainui Marae Tarere Marae Te Aitanga a Mahaki Ngai Tamanuhiri Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust Ngati Rangiwaho, Rangiwaho Marae - Te Kopua mai Paritu Ngai Te Ipu ki Whakaki Ngai Tu ki Rakato/Mahia Hikairo ki Whareongaonga Ngati Te Korou Pahauwera Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc. Ngati Hinepare (ki Kahungunu) Te Runanganui o Heretaunga Ngati Mahu Ngai Tawhao Ngati Kahungunu ki Poneke Rangitane Rangitane o Kaituna Motu Wairaka Marae Ngāi Tūmapūhia-a-Rangi ki Te Wairarapa Ngati Hinewaka Ngati Hine Ngati Hinepua Ngai Tarita Ngati Rakaiwhakairi Ngati Hinewaka Ngai Tukoko Ngati Ngapuoterangi Ngati Rakairangi Ngati Hinetauira Ngati Kahukuranui Ngati Rua Ngati Rongomaiaia Ngati Rangaranga Ngati Kahukuraawhitia Ngati Mamoe (Ki Wairarapa) Ngati Parakiore, Nga Ruahuihui o Tamaki Nui A Rua Te Iwi o Tamaki Nui A Rua Ngai Te Ao

Climate change is real, the evidence is there in black and white, it is no 'hoax'. The US is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions through its ongoing focus on burning fossil fuels. New Zealand must make a stand for the rest of the global community and send a message to the US Government: "your reckless and ill-thought through decisions impact all global citizens. We will not stand by and let this carnage carry on."