This is important to me because I care about the environment and I want it to remain for many years to come. We must act NOW! When the last tree is cut down, and the seas all dried up, man will realise that he CANNOT EAT MONEY.

It is our right to be able to have access to affordable food and clean water. Things that could threaten this now are - economic collapse on the world stage climate change and longer term - loss of biodiversity through insect collapse our reliance on imported food and fuel overfishing and polluting the oceans chemical and industrial sprays monocultures in farming meteors or solar flares Three months of basic food and fuel must be stored in this country at all times, Planning for food shortage must be addressed urgently since to resolve this will take time. Look first at our dependence on Australia for wheat. We need cash security – what happens when the ATMs stop working? It will be up to the Think Tank to come up with solutions at a government level. This article explains how climate issues can affect our food, and how we already have significant problems as identified by Horticulture NZ. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12016943 FYI Some Solutions: The government, Civil Defence, and the army need to put plans in place now, not in ten years time, to ensure that we in New Zealand do not suffer greatly when the ‘proverbial’ hits the fan. Food production must become local and varied. Reliance on imported food must reduce. We must halt the use of pesticides and chemicals in farming. There need not be insect collapse, that scientists are warning us about, if the worst pesticides and herbicides are banned. A move to permaculture and organics is possible over the next few years. We must clean up the environment in all areas, not just farming and forests, but in gardens, city beaches and harbours, and run offs from industry. Our water must be clean and unpolluted. Schools, maraes, churches, mosques, and other communities can create community gardens. Even sports clubs usually have a little land that can be used to grow fruit trees or gardens. High rise buildings can have gardens on the top to feed those living below. Each suburb in towns could have a ‘high rise’ type of building, (vertical farming), that grows and distributes vegetables. We can introduce high-rise urban farming too. Local governments can organise these with some government funding. Supermarket chains – head offices – can have government funded store houses for basic foods that are regularly circulated and replenished. Water too needs to be stored. Planning for food coupons? Farmers can hand over a few accessible hectares for locals to farm on – whether using it for chicken houses or vegetables. Methods of transport need to be ensured that don’t use oil / fossil fuels for if the economy collapses there will be little or no petrol and food will not be able to be transported. Planning for carless days as in the 70s? Everyone needs to work together to make this country more sustainable in food, water and other services. We in New Zealand have a chance to survive in relative comfort, but only if we begin preparing now including government. Imagine a category 4 or 5 cyclone hitting Auckland and the ensuing devastation. Are we really prepared for power cuts for weeks? We must consider our youth and create a good future for them and their progeny. After all we inherited the earth, and we have wrecked it for our grandchildren. New Zealand is one place that could survive if the proper steps are put in place

Glyphosate is classified by the World Health Organisation as “probably carcinogenic” to humans, yet it is still legal to use it in public spaces like parks and on roadsides. If it enters waterways, glyphosate harms fish and other aquatic animals. Many of our roadside drains lead straight into the rivers and then the harbour. Glyphosate is often combined in weed killers with other active ingredients that also harm animals and people. Currently FNDC uses around 480 litres of glyphosate and other herbicides in parks and reserves and more than 1000 litres on roadsides per year. Many people are concerned about the health impacts of these chemicals on themselves and their children and are currently unable to avoid them as they are liberally sprayed around our public places. We believe FNDC has a responsibility not to undertake practices that are harmful to residents of the district and to safeguard the interests of rate payers by not making themselves liable for future claims of harm caused. In 2018 a man in the US was awarded $78 million in compensation because RoundUp caused his cancer. There are plenty of non-toxic alternatives available including hot water treatment, steam treatment, and products made from plant oils. We recently had a very successful demonstration in Rawene of a product called Foamstream https://www.weedingtech.com/nz/

To defend our climate, we need to stop handing out oil and gas permits. The government has opened up 2,188 km² of Taranaki land to oil companies. We are saying: NO WAY! Handing out permits for more fossil fuel exploration while the planet is melting can only be described as ecocide and crime against humanity. Fossil fuel companies have known of their impacts on climate and ocean chemistry for many decades, and have acted to increase their biosphere-destroying activities, not transition to clean renewables. We are reading reports about the collapse of the glaciers in Greenland and the collapse of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The melting of the ice will lead to sea-level rise of several meters. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere keep rising due to increasing emissions despite politicians saying that climate change is a priority. If we are to take climate change seriously – and we owe it to our children – then we need to stop drilling for more oil and gas or digging up more coal now. Handing out permits to oil companies now is like handing out death certificates to our children. Find out more on the Climate Justice Taranaki website: www.climatejusticetaranaki.info

Austria and Canada have updated their national anthems to be inclusive. Our national anthem contains the words “Men of every creed and race”. The word “men” is outdated and no longer appropriate to represent half the Kiwi population; the NZ Government’s own style guide endorses the use of gender neutral language. Ministry of Culture staff advise that a change to the anthem lyrics requires Cabinet approval. Join me in asking this to happen, recommending that the words “men of every creed and race” be replaced with something inclusive such as “every creed and every race”. It would be fantastic for the PM’s daughter, and every female in Aotearoa New Zealand, to be included in this national song.

Big corporations like Coca Cola continue to produce and sell vast quantities of throwaway plastic that ends up in the environment, choking marine life, polluting land and rivers and endangering wildlife and people's health. It's time they started paying the real price.

The Arms Amendment Bill that followed the white-supremacist terror attack in Christchurch is an excellent step towards ridding New Zealand of dangerous weapons of war - but it doesn't go far enough. Right now New Zealand remains almost alone with the United States in not having a register of firearms. Without one, authorities don't know where guns are are or who owns them. There are about 250,000 registered firearms licence holders, and estimates of the number of guns in the country range from 1.2 million to 3m - 15,000 of these guns were semi-automatic weapons. Along with the USA, New Zealand is one of the few places where owners don’t have to register each weapon, except for certain categories of firearm. Registering each gun would reduce illegal sales and theft of guns. The gun lobby is mobilising to slow down and dilute any action taken to restrict gun ownership. It's vital that we counter that by showing support for the Arms Amendment Bill and that New Zealanders want even better gun control laws.

In February 2019, the Environment Protection Authority gave Coastal Resources Ltd (CRL) permission to increase the amount of sediment it dumps from 50,000 cubic metres to 250,000 cubic metres annually for 35 years, just 25 km of the east coast of Great Barrier Island. Kelly Klink, of iwi Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea and the Society for the Protection of Aotea Community & Ecology have lodged appeals against the resource consent in the High Court. Ngati Rehua Ngatiwai ki Aotea have a significant and an undeniable interest within the area - holding mana whenua and mana moana. Kelly states that ‘the proposed activity will have an irreversible impact on our moana’ and further ‘the harm will be irreparable to the wairua and mauri of Moana nui o Toi, adversely affecting the marine environment upon which our iwi have relied on mai rano’. The approved consent is a 500 % increase from the current consent! This will have significant negative impacts to the marine environment (for example, substrate smothering, heavy metal contamination, water quality degradation, effect of sounds on marine life such as whales, changes in marine life behavioural patterns, increased bio-security risks). The community of Aotea, need your help to support the expensive legal costs involved in a High Court appeal. If you can, make a donation. We face a long game with lots of legal costs and are really relying on the financial support of New Zealanders who love Aotea and want to see a better future for our stunning oceans and our unique island. If you can please make a donation through direct debit to Protect Aotea bank account, 03-0296-0454684-000 Or donate through www.givealittle.co.nz and search Protect Aotea For more information on the consent application please refer: https://www.epa.govt.nz/public-consultations/decided/coastal-resources-limited/

Do you catch the Outerlink home after school? Have you ever crossed the road only to be harassed by angry drivers telling you to get out of the way? Well, we have. Meola Road can be an incredibly busy road, that gets very dangerous for school kids who are just trying to catch the bus. We are concerned for all our students who are putting themselves in danger by crossing such a busy road. Drivers aren't perfect, and mistakes can be made. We don't want to be compromising our own safety. By signing this petition, you will be helping us take action to introduce a zebra crossing by the MOTAT bus stop on Meola Road (Stop 1051.) We want to take care of you and make our roads a safer place. From the Western Springs College Travel Wise team.

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.

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.

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.