Campaign group System Change Aotearoa is hosting a major public meeting this Thursday opposing Wayne Brown and Chris Hipkins’ climate cuts. The meeting will hear from representatives from the Green Party, Te Pāti Māori, Greenpeace, FIRST Union, Unite Union and Fare-Free NZ.
WHEN: 7pm, Thursday 6 April
WHERE: Auckland Irish Club, Rocky Nook Ave, Mt. Albert
The speakers will be:
Chlöe Swarbrick — Green Party MP for Auckland Central
Takutai Moana Kemp — Te Pāti Māori candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau
Christine Rose — Lead Climate Campaigner for Greenpeace Aotearoa
Louisa Jones — Assistant General Secretary of FIRST Union
Joe Carolan — organiser for Unite Union
Roger Fowler — Fare Free NZ
Elliot Crossan — System Change Aotearoa
“’Fix Auckland.’ That was Wayne Brown’s campaign slogan last year when running for the mayoralty. Now after delivering his first budget, it is clear what his vision of a ‘fixed’ Auckland entails: fewer bus services; fewer council jobs; fewer libraries and Citizen’s Advice Bureaus; less funding for the environment; a severely diminished arts and culture sector; and fewer services for homeless people”, said System Change Aotearoa spokesperson Elliot Crossan. “A city built for wealthy business people to drive around in their expensive cars, desperately trying to ignore the climate crisis even as it unleashes devastating floods and cyclones upon our narrow isthmus.”
Crossan added: “Meanwhile, the Labour Government has turned towards a form of austerity since Ardern left office. Chris Hipkins initiated a ‘policy bonfire’ in his first two months as Prime Minister, slashing $1 billion worth of spending, mainly from climate initiatives such as the ‘cash-for-clunkers’ scheme.”
“This is not yet outright austerity, as Hipkins has framed his cuts as ‘reprioritisation.’ What Labour intends to offer in May’s budget to tackle “bread and butter issues” remains up in the air — but the notion that the government can either tackle the climate crisis or focus on the cost of living is itself buying into austerity logic. The fact that the Labour Party is pursuing climate cuts in the immediate aftermath of January’s Auckland floods and February’s Cyclone Gabrielle is staggering.”
Louisa Jones, Assistant General Secretary of FIRST Union, says:
“The Climate Change Commission says that by 2030 New Zealand needs to double public transport ridership, while Auckland needs to triple. Achieving that will require major investments in driver wages, fare reductions and expanding the reach and regularity of our PT network. Instead Auckland Council is cutting bus services, while half-price fares are set to end on 30 June. We desperately need both Council and Government to radically increase investments in public transport, to support our most vulnerable and safeguard our environment.”
Unite Union organiser Joe Carolan says:
“I urge everyone in Auckland who realises we only have a few years left to turn climate change around to join us at this important meeting of the left in Aotearoa.”
Takutai Moana Kemp, Te Pāti Māori candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau, says:
“Ko au ko te taiao, ko te taiao ko au. I am the environment and the environment is me.”
System Change Aotearoa is a campaign group that seeks to bring together trade unions, environmentalists, anti-capitalists and Tangata Whenua in order to fight for system change not climate change. Read the group’s demands here. https://www.1of200.nz/articles/a-system-change-manifesto-for-radical-climate-justice
