Stop exploiting Papatūānuku!

One of the more disgusting things the new Government in Aotearoa is doing (and believe me, there’s a lot) is looking at fast-tracking the ability for mining companies to destroy swathes of land, currently protected.

Here’s some more information from a Newshub report in late December:

Stewardship areas are parcels of land with conservation value given to DOC in 1987 that haven’t been afforded additional protections. The previous Government began a process to accelerate the reclassification of stewardship land.

“We are going to extract the dividend from Mother Nature’s legacy on the DOC estate in those areas previously called stewardship land,” Jones said.

“Now, why is this important? If we do not have coal and gas continuing to contribute to our power system, we’re going to have blackouts, brownouts; we’re going to have a power system that lacks security, riddled with risk; and it’ll diminish the status of our nation as a first-class, First World country. This side of the House is not taking that risk.”

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/12/shane-jones-gone-full-trump-declared-war-on-nature-with-mining-comments-conservation-group-says.html

Fast track legislation is being ushered through Parliament soon to allow this destruction. As the world around us burns and drowns, instead of protecting Papatūānuku we are going to exploit her until there is nothing left.

It makes me sick to my stomach that short-sighted people, beholden to the wealthy and companies that will line their pockets with political donations get to further climate change in such a blatant manner – and yet we are helpless to do anything.

I’ve signed this petition (please do so too!) and am going to be writing to my local MP but if you have any other suggestions, I’d gladly hear it!