Issue 15 - Environment

SA L I E N T Environment

ISSUE 15

CONTENTS 04

05—10

11

Letters and Notices

News

Sustainability Week Schedule

12—15

16—18

19—21

Climate Court Is In Session (Feature)

Hope In The Climate Crisis (Feature)

Comic

22—25

26—33

34—38

School Strike For Climate Change (Feature)

Culture

Entertainment

About Us Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA).

Salient is funded in part by VUWSA through the Student Services Levy. Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA).

The views expressed in Salient do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, VUWSA, or the University.

Complaints Complaints regarding the material published in Salient should first be brought to the Editor in writing (editor@salient.org.nz). If not satisfied with the response, complaints should be directed to the Media Council (info@mediacouncil.org.nz).

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Find Us Twitter @salientmagazine Facebook fb.com/salientmagazine Instagram @salientgram www.salient.org.nz

Chatting with Vic’s Nic EDITORIAL Nic Smith is “excited, hopeful, and inspired” to be the new Vice Chancellor of VUW. He isn’t ancient, which is a welcome change from the norm. Nic attended university in the late 80s and early 90s, which meant his undergraduate degree was partially paid for by the government. When I asked how this would have benefited him, he said “it’s one of those things that you don’t really think about very much at the time.” He explained that “it wasn’t unusual in my day for people to fail quite large proportions of their first year at university,” saying it allowed students a greater sense of space to explore their interests without worrying about financial pressures.

To him, university isn’t a place where you get preordained knowledge, but a diverse community which challenges you and expands your worldviews. He said the word “community” a lot of times.

The freedom to fail without financial consequence was left in the 80s, a bygone era when tertiary education was free in Aotearoa. I questioned Nic on the financial concerns of our student body: whether halls of residence prices were reasonable, whether tutors deserve a pay rise, and whether the stipend for post-grad students would be increased.

On all of these points, Nic agreed in principle that students were struggling, but said that the cost of living crisis “was coming across all of society” and that we shouldn’t single out a certain group as struggling more than others. I was disappointed that he couldn’t even give me an estimate on what he thought it cost to live in a catered hall. When I informed him that it was close to 20k, he started off by saying that “inflationary pressures” would make it difficult to discern “what’s reasonable.”

I also asked Nic a bunch of questions related to current issues within VUW. He was unable to answer many of them in detail, reminding me that it was only his second day on the job and that he did not “understand the institution enough yet.” At one point he suggested that I come back to him with these questions half way through next year, as he might have a lot more to say then.

At this stage, Nic won’t commit to bringing back ‘Rant With Grant’. That was an annual event held in the Hub where students had an opportunity to directly speak with the VC, which both myself and ex-VC Grant Guilford were keen on having his successor resurrect. Nic did say, however, that he was “keen on listening to people’s lived experiences of this institution.”

On how he would personally honour Te Tiriti, Nic said it was important to bring in Treaty obligations at the start of processes, rather than halfway through, “to ensure interactions are mana-enhancing for everybody.” He also cited the importance of the University’s leadership to admit to their past mistakes and learn from them by engaging in partnership. “As a Pākehā, I have an enhanced commitment to [the Treaty] and to setting the tone,” he said.

At the start of the year, Grant Guilford told me he hoped our future VC “understood the nature of New Zealand, the treaty, and the ‘Te Herenga Waka era.’”

I’m not sure how well a man who has, according to his LinkedIn profile, spent seven of the last fourteen years overseas in the UK and Australia understands the current nature of Aotearoa and the student experience in Pōneke.

Only time will tell how Nic’s role as Vice Chancellor impacts the environment of this university. But all the student representatives I’ve spoken to over the past few weeks agree on one thing: he’s a step up from Guilford.

Ngā manaakitanga, JANHAVI GOSAVI (SHE/HER)

www.salient.org.nz

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Let ters & Notices Do you have a PSA that needs to be heard?

Send your letters and notices to editor@salient.org.nz if you’d like them published on this page

Vic Uni Film Society Join us for a movie in HM104, every Wednesday at 7pm! Vic Film Society offers a diverse range of free movie screenings for all students, along with some chill banter and games.

Our trimester 2 line-up: 13th July: Surfs Up 20th July: After Yang 27th July: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 3rd August: Pariah 10th August: Perfect Blue 17th August: Short Films Week 7th September: Crash (1996) 14th September: Woman

Watermelon

21st September: Johnny Mnemonic 28th September: Darbereye Elly 5th October: Bram Stoker’s Dracula 12th October: Hausu

Correction for ‘University Relationships Policy Opposed By Many Rainbow Students‘ piece published in Issue 14 Queerlient The Intimate and Close Personal Relationships Policy is a new policy, rather than an existing policy with proposed amendments as originally reported. The requirements in the Policy do not cover intimate relationships where staff and students do not work together or have no professional relationship. These only apply where the member of the University community has a direct responsibility for, or involvement in, the student’s academic studies and/or is assigned specific direct responsibilities related to the emotional safety and well-being of the student.

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A Series of Unfortunate Games For The All Blacks Words by Beth Mountford (she/her)

The All Blacks lost 22-32 to Ireland at the Cake Tin (Sky Stadium) last Saturday, concluding with an overall loss of the three-game series. It is the first time the All Blacks have lost a home series since 1994. But as far as this highly underqualified and unofficial “Sports Editor” could tell, it was a stellar evening of masculine entertainment.

At 5:30pm, the city swarmed towards the Stadium.

A full 35,890 fans swelled into braided rivers from every corner of the city. It was impossible to resist the crowd-fuelled excitement that was emanating from black and green merch-wielding fanatics alike.

Ireland opened strong and kept the pressure on.

Breakaway Josh van der Flier scored a try in the first four minutes. Fullback Hugo Keenan and centre Robbie Henshaw also scored tries in the first forty.

At half time I caught up with some Ireland fans sitting behind us to get their expert opinions on the situation at hand. After serenading me with Foreigner’s ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’, one fan told me, “this is huge like, this is absolutely massive for us.” When asked if he was confident in Ireland’s victory, he humbly said, “we ain’t won nothin’ yet,’’ despite the score being 3-22 in their favour.

The second half saw a change of momentum, with

the All Blacks regaining some control. Ardie Savea scored the first try around three minutes in. Will Jordan scored fifteen minutes later. Both tries had successful conversions. I think there was some kind of penalty against Ireland at some point, which brought the All Blacks to their final resting place of 22 points.

Suzy, an All Blacks fan and VUW student, described the event as a “tough loss.” She continued, “lucky I was blind drunk so I couldn’t watch it. My biggest victory last night was getting an Irishman to confess his love for me, catch me supporting Ireland next year.”

Another student commented that, “​it was a good game, close and tense at times, Ireland deserved it overall.”

“The All Blacks have shown that their dominance of international rugby is waning, the glory days of McCaw are a long way behind us. The All Blacks are overdue some soul searching and must negotiate a new sense of identity in world rugby,” they said.

We lost, but I for one was left with an overarching sense of respect from both sides. After the match, All Blacks fans were deflated, though not entirely defeated. The echoing sentiment was that if we were to be beaten by anyone, we were glad it was Ireland. www.salient.org.nz

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People’s Inquiry Into Student Wellbeing Proves The Kids Aren’t Alright Words by Salient News Team

Results of the People’s Inquiry into Student Wellbeing were released on Monday 18 July showing severe student poverty and shattered political promises. The inquiry was led by the Green Party, the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA), Te Mana Ākonga, Tauira Pasifika, and the National Disabled Students’ Association, with 28 other students’ association signatories from across Aotearoa.

The inquiry had a total of 4,593 responses from students. Chloe Swarbrick, Green Party Tertiary Education Spokesperson, stated “[t]his report outlines loud and clear that the current tertiary education system set up by the Government is causing harm to those students who are simply trying to better themselves and invest in their futures. I hope it signals to the Government that urgent change and support is needed.”

Salient breaks down the inquiry, which has upsetting, yet unsurprising, results.

Student Poverty and Rising Rents The inquiry found that two thirds of students regularly cannot afford their essential needs. The news broke on the same day the inflation rate was revealed to be 7.3%, New Zealand’s highest since 1990. Chloe Swarbrick stated “while the opposition will be talking about how we need to cut investment in our future [...] the Greens will continue to push for the kinds of interventions that we know build a strong and equitable country.”

Sam Blackmoore, Vice President of NZUSA, stated “students live in poverty [...] the results from our People’s Inquiry demonstrate just how stark this poverty is.” Blackmoore said “poverty should never be a ‘rite of passage’ to suffer through,” adding that he was hopeful the inquiry would make real change.

One respondent in the inquiry stated “I’m currently filling this survey out while drinking lots of water because I don’t actually have enough food for a meal tonight. I think that’s a summary of my personal experience as a university student.”

The inquiry found that, on average, those living in a shared flat spend 56% of their weekly income on rent.

The general ‘rule of thumb’ on housing affordability is that one should not pay more than 30% of their income on rental payments.

One in six students said their rental property didn’t

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meet their needs, but they were unable to relocate because rents were too high. Furthermore, 70% of respondents stated they would feel uncomfortable discussing a landlord’s breach of responsibilities to the landlord involved, mostly out of fear of eviction.

A further 75% of students said they would feel uncomfortable raising matters with the Tenancy Tribunal, which is set up to work for both landlords and tenants.

Mental Wellbeing Chloe Swarbrick states a “lack of government action” is exacerbating overwhelming demands in Aotearoa’s mental health system, with an “overwhelming majority [of students] in a state of mental distress.”

More than two-thirds of respondents claimed poorer mental wellbeing due to the pandemic, stating they experienced loneliness, anxiety, and a lack of overall motivation.

Many students have said the rising cost of living is causing mental hardship, with some adding that those who were in tertiary education a long time ago do not understand the day-to-day struggles of a contemporary student.

Many respondents felt that university counselling services were inaccessible, with less than 10% of respondents stating they were currently using oncampus mental health services. Students stated they felt “embarrassed to seek help,” and cited long wait times as a deterrent to accessing university wellbeing services.

Student Allowance Students reported that aspects of the Student Allowance policy are “unfair.” One respondent stated that the Student Allowance was much less than the Jobseeker Support benefit. This respondent claimed they faced a $50 drop in allowance and a $35 increase in expenses when switching from the Jobseeker Support benefit to the Student Allowance.

Others stated that means-testing Student Allowance to parent and partner income was out of touch with reality. If a student is living with an income-earning partner, they are entitled to $80 less in student allowance each week.

An overwhelming majority of students stated that they do not spend as much time attending classes

or studying as they would like, due to working jobs alongside university. 68% of full-time students stated they had at least one job on top of study, with 87% of part-time students also in this position.

Statistics show disabled students are much less likely to spend their desired amount of time studying. In addition, students living in cities known for expensive rental markets, such as Wellington and Auckland, are more likely to partake in employment alongside their studies.

University Responses to COVID-19 A small majority of 57% of respondents felt supported by their tertiary institution’s response to COVID-19.

Disabled students were less likely to feel supported than students who did not identify as disabled.

Only half of respondents living in student accommodation stated feeling supported by their institution’s response to COVID-19, with many claims of “poor infection-control processes” and “poor protection or support for mental wellbeing.”

Alice Mander, President of the National Disabled Students Association, stated “there’s just a lack of understanding that disabled students exist [...] When [Chris Hipkins] talks to politicians about disabled students, there’s been an almost strange reaction where they just refuse to say those two words together.” Mander added she was “disappointed” in universities choosing to remove vaccine mandates despite backlash from disabled students.

Recommendations to Parliament Based on the enquiries findings, the Green Party has made 5 key policy recommendations to “alleviate student financial hardship [...] and help them succeed in their studies”.

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A universal and raised Student Allowance payment which matches the cost of living, meaning an end to parent income testing.

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Better mental health support is also recommended with calls for more “accessibility and capacity.”

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Free public transport for students, as the current financial burden of transport was shown to inhibit students’ ability to attend classes.

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Rent controls and a rental warrant of fitness were also recommended.

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Permanently embedding the Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Students Code of Practice 2021 by working collaboratively with universities and student accommodation.

Swarbrick acknowledged that without the government accepting these recommendations, tangible policy change would not be likely, adding that she is “coming for” Education Minister Chris Hipkins.

Hipkins shrugged off the inquiry. He nstead pointed to the government’s progress on student issues, saying that the current Labour government has done more than previous governments, and adding that the current Cost of Living Payment is helping students.

Photo: Release of People’s Inquiry Into Student Wellbeing

www.salient.org.nz

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Your Honour, Lower The Voting Age: Youth Campaign Reaches Supreme Court Words by Azaria Howell (she/her)

Bright and early on Tuesday 12 July, an advocacy group of politically minded rangatahi had their day in Aotearoa’s highest court in an ambitious bid to lower the voting age. Amidst a room of high-profile legal executives and high schoolers, the Make It 16 group called on the Supreme Court to issue a formal declaration that the current voting age is inconsistent with New Zealand’s Bill of Rights Act 1990. Make it 16 allege the current voting age promotes “unjustified age discrimination.”

The group previously took their case to the Court of Appeal, which found that the voting age of 18 was unjustified age discrimination. Despite this, the Court of Appeal did not find any inconsistency with the Bill of Rights Act. Make It 16 were “frustrated” by the Court of Appeal’s ruling, prompting the group to take their case to New Zealand’s highest court.

Make It 16 co-director Cate Tipler stated the hearing was “a significant day for the rights of rangatahi.”

Tipler added, “if the Supreme Court issues a declaration, it will not overturn the law but it will send a strong moral message to Parliament that this has to change. It will pressure our politicians to look at this serious human rights issue and how a voting age of 16 will uplift and strengthen the voices of young people in Aotearoa. Breaching our human rights just isn’t good enough.”

The Court’s public gallery was packed with young people. Jason McHerron, chief lawyer for Make It 16, stated in the courthouse that 16 and 17 year-olds have “a range of legal rights and responsibilities [...] who can’t vote only due to their age,” adding that “evidence shows that they are competent [to vote].”

The issue has reached beyond the courts into the buzzing halls of the Beehive. A petition from Make It 16 to lower the voting age has received over 6,000 signatures so far. In addition, an open letter calling on Parliament to lower the voting age gained the support of 72 elected officials. The open letter was delivered to Ginny Andersen, a Labour MP and chair of Parliament’s Justice Select Committee, on 29 June.

Youth MPs have supported the cause, with more than half of the 120 representatives signing an open letter to parliamentarians in support of lowering the voting age.

Youth MP and Make it 16 Co-Director Cate Tipler spoke in Parliament on Tuesday 19 July, saying, “Youth Parliament is proof that the decisions being made by politicians today will impact young people the most.”

Tipler added, “Our parliament has told us they recognise we care about our communities. They’ve told us we can give speeches on the importance of voting. They’ve told us we’re more than capable of discussing and debating complex issues, and our MPs have told us we should support their party policy [...]

The only thing not real about Youth Parliament is that many of us will not have the right to vote in this year’s local election, or even next year’s general election.”

Many other Youth MPs supported the cause in their speeches in the House.

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First Reports of Tyre Extinguishers in Wellington Words by Beth Mountford (she/her)

Wellingtonians have recently reported a first wave of strikes from the Tyre Extinguishers, an international environmental campaign group who deflate tyres on SUVs. Tyre attacks have also been reported in Auckland and Christchurch, beginning in early May. According to the Tyre Extinguishers’ website, their aim is to “[t]o make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4 in the world’s urban areas,” by deflating the tyres of such vehicles. They claim that they are “defending [them]selves against climate change, air pollution, and unsafe drivers.”

The group has active members in England, Sweden, Germany, Canada, America, Scotland, and now New Zealand.

Ronaldo, who had his company vehicle’s tyres deflated around Oriental Bay on Sunday 17 July, says that he is sympathetic to the Tyre Extinguishers’ eco friendly message, but that they are “narrow minded and short sighted.”

His concerns were around safety and the group being unable to distinguish between the SUVs they

aim to target and essential workers’ vehicles. In terms of lowering emissions on the road, he says the government “has that under control.”

“It’s kind of stupid and redundant…What are they trying to prove? It’s not like they can get [emissions reduction] pushed forward 30 years by deflating tyres,” he said.

In an interview with Salient, the curator of a European Instagram account mocking the Tyre Extinguishers says they agree that environmental issues need to be taken more seriously, but that the Tyre Extinguishers’ method is divisive and unproductive.

“All I want to do is drive my Landrover more just to make a point,” they said, “but I don’t, as I am actually in the process of converting it to electric, I am actually pro environment protection.”

The Tyre Extinguishers say that their action is necessary due to government inaction.

“We want to live in towns and cities with clean air and safe streets. Politely asking and protesting for these things has failed. It’s time for action,” they said.

AUT’s Late Acceptance Leaves Health Science Students In Limbo Words by Azaria Howell (she/her)

Auckland University of Technology’s Health Science papers run under selective-entry criteria, meaning only students who get adequate grades are able to continue the course. The University has received criticism from students for informing people of their admission only one week before courses started.

Only a select number of students make it into these courses. This is because hands-on placement learning can only cater for a small number of students.

Organisations such as ambulance services and hospitals train students.

AUT recently changed their entry criteria, allowing all interested students to complete the first semester of the Health Sciences degree, with special entry requirements starting in the second semester.

Students could experience all Health Science disciplines before picking a major. Students who completed their first semester of Health Sciences were then asked to rank their top choices of speciality.

Selections were based on factors including grades.

AUT Paramedicine student Laura Nixon says this short timeframe “doesn’t allow students to pick another career or apply to another university.”

Nixon told Salient that AUT “need to sort themselves out […] they really need to consider the student’s point of view of this entire thing.”

The news of the short timeframe surfaced amidst reports of healthcare worker shortages. On this point, Nixon stated “the thing is, we’re all here, we’re all ready to study and become healthcare workers.”

AUT told Salient they “sincerely apologise to our students and their whānau for the delay in confirming Bachelor of Health Science enrolments for Semester 2.”

AUT added, “In retrospect, we got it wrong. We were trying to create greater flexibility in study at a time when our students needed certainty [...] Difficulties, delays, and piecemeal communications created some confusion for students, and we deeply regret any distress this may have caused.”

AUT agreed that there was a shortage of healthcare workers, stating that they were involved in multiple projects to uphold and empower future health professionals.

The Bachelor of Health Science at AUT will revert to direct-entry applications. www.salient.org.nz

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H e a dline Junkie: Words by Ethan Manera (he/him)

A Bite-Sized Look Into the Big Stories

CW: Death

Queen Elizabeth Battles British Heatwave

Lincoln Student Dies In Hall Of Residence

As England suffers from historically high temperatures in the midst of a climate catastrophy, one of their most frail residents seems to be holding up surprisingly well. Due to mobility issues, the Queen has been fulfilling her engagements virtually. She attended a meeting over Zoom while wearing a “floral summer dress.”

Her Majesty has previously been known to use a Dyson Pure Hot + Cool Link purifier fan to keep cool. Some commentators have suggested the 40-degree temperatures may be the end of the Queen, predicting the extreme heat may be a catalyst for her death.

The body of a student has been found in a Lincoln University hall of residence on Ellesmere Junction Road last week. The young woman was a first year student. The death is not being treated as suspicious, according to a police spokesperson. Lincoln University Vice-Chancellor Grant Edwards told media the university is “deeply saddened” by the “unexpected death.”

“You Grubs!” Burger King Customer Furious over Mouldy Food New Plymouth Burger King has come under fire after allegedly serving up expired food.

A disgruntled customer took to Facebook to ridicule the establishment saying “Cheers Burger King you grubs!” and adding that their “intellectually disabled brother” accidently ate the green burger. The New Plymouth store is undertaking an internal investigation with a spokesperson saying they “pride themselves on food quality and safety.”

Half-Price Public Transport Extended

Sprinters Sprint Fast New Zealand athletes have had a successful start to the World Athletic Championships this year in the US state of Oregon. Sprinter Zoe Hobbs broke her own previous 100m sprint record of 11.09 seconds to complete the race in a speedy 11.08s. Zoe came second in a photo finish against competitor Anthonique Strachan. Many kiwis congratulated the 24-year-old zoomer, including National MP Harete Hipango, who took to facebook saying “the best is still to come! Zoe go Zoom.” Fellow NZ sprinter Eddie Osei-Nketia also broke a New Zealand 100m sprint record, clocking in at 10.08s. This smashed the record of 10.11s set by his father in 1994.

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Finance minister Grant Robertson (aka ‘Grob’) has announced further measures to combat the cost of living crisis. Initiatives from Budget 2022, including half-price public transport and fuel tax reduction, will be extended until January. This is a prolonging of measures which were initially supposed to end in August. Grob added that there is “no easy fix” for inflation, but said the government is taking a “range of actions to ease the pressure on families.” National have opposed these measures, saying they are an example of mere “band-aid economics.”

Words by Maia Ingoe (she/her)

Wellington High Court

WHO: Students for Climate Solutions (SCS) with Climate Justice Taranaki and Taranaki Energy Watch as plaintiffs

Minister for Energy and Resources, Megan Woods

ARGUMENT:

ACTION:

Permits didn’t adequately consider legislation

Granted two new onshore oil and gas exploration permits in Taranaki.

Permits are inconsistent with international treaties Aotearoa has signed Minister didn’t consult meaningfully with Taranaki iwi

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The fight for climate action happens on parliament lawns, on lines of rising sea levels and…in courtrooms. Reflecting a global trend of climate lawsuits, a group of law students from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University have banded together to take the Minister for Energy and Resources to court over the decision to grant two oil and gas exploration permits in 2021.

Students for Climate Solutions v Minister for Energy and Resources: The Case Climate activists rejoiced when a ban on offshore oil and gas exploration was announced in 2018, and again with the climate emergency declaration in 2020. Six months later, the Minister for Energy and Resources, Megan Woods, granted two new onshore oil and gas exploration permits in Taranaki.

The move astounded climate activists and experts.

The science couldn’t be clearer; to have a chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, fossil fuel exploration must immediately cease.

A group of friends, all Law and Public Policy students at Te Herenga Waka, were exploring ways they could help enforce climate action when they stumbled upon these new permits. By November 2021, they had combined forces as Students for Climate Solutions (SCS) to launch legal action against Minister Megan Woods.

“The project didn’t start off as ‘okay, we’re gonna sue the government’,” said Phoebe Nikolau, one of the founding members of SCS. “We were just mates, and it was more of ‘this is interesting, I wonder if it’s legal’: classic law student stuff.” Phoebe is whāngai to Ngāruahine and Ngā Rauru, and a recently graduated Law and International Relations student. Her investment in the case begins with family connections to Ohawe in Taranaki, a town in the centre of still-prominent oil drilling.

“What’s happening is criminal,” she said.

The action launched against the Minister is a judicial review, the process by which the judiciary can review decisions of the Government. SCS has joined with Climate Justice Taranaki and Taranaki Energy Watch as plaintiffs in the case, and are legally represented in their hearing at the Wellington High Court, beginning on 25 July.

International Relations and Public Policy student.

Firstly, they argue the decision to grant permits didn’t adequately consider legislation. This includes the Zero Carbon Act, which commits New Zealand to zero carbon by 2050, and the Crown Minerals Act, which asserts exploration must be for the betterment of New Zealand.

Secondly, they argue the decision to grant permits was inconsistent with international treaties Aotearoa has signed, such as the Paris Agreement, which commits governments to limit warming to 1.5 degrees under a global framework.

Thirdly, they argue the Minister didn’t consult meaningfully with Taranaki iwi.

“Ideally, the outcome we’d want from the judge is that these permits are declared illegal,” said SCS member Rilke Comer, a Law and Geography student. “It’s like the dream decision, because there’s no point in having exploratory permits which are just gonna turn into extraction, and we’re not gonna be able to have our nation adapt.”

Oil and gas exploration permits allow for up to 15 years of exploratory activity, and carry rights to apply for mining permits, possibly locking in fossil fuel extraction far beyond 2030. That is the year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states emissions must be halved to have a chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.

The two permits approved in June 2021 were granted to Riverside Energy Limited and Greymouth Petroleum Limited. “It’s not even like New Zealand is exclusively benefiting economically from it,” Rilke said. “It’s people in the United States like Riverside Energy, which is entirely US state-owned and has only US shareholders. We don’t use any of the oil we extract in New Zealand.”

“SCS’s argument is based on three main tenants,” explained Lachlan Craig, an SCS member and Law, www.salient.org.nz

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Climate Court: A Global Trend The SCS v Minister of Energy and Resources case joins a suite of cases fought on climate change grounds over the last few years. In 2020, there were 1,550 climate litigation cases fought across 38 countries.

In 2015, the Urgenda Foundation, a Dutch environmental group, along with 900 Dutch citizens, sued their government to demand more action on climate change. The court ruled the Dutch state’s initial contribution was insufficient, and they must limit emissions to 25% below 1990 levels by 2020.

In Aotearoa courtrooms, notable climate cases include Lawyers for Climate Action NZ (LCANZ) v the Climate Commission in 2021. Hundreds of lawyers grouped under LCANZ sued the Climate Commission, arguing their carbon budgets were insufficient to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, which violated domestic law and the Paris Agreement.

“Our view was that the advice the Climate Change Commission gave the government on what New Zealand’s emissions budget, and what our nationally determined contribution under the Paris agreement should be, was essentially based on a misapplication of the 2018 IPCC report on 1.5 degrees,” Explained Jenny Cooper QC, president of LCANZ and commercial litigator with Shortland Chambers. The judgement on their case has yet to be released.

LCANZ began as a conversation between friends after the release of the 2018 IPCC report. “I was horrified. That brought home to me how serious the situation is, and how there’s a real need for urgent, major action,” said Jenny.

This collective of some of New Zealand’s top lawyers has engaged in many submissions, as well as supporting climate litigation cases and actively spreading awareness of climate change. One of their first major actions was a proposal to the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw, to include the right to a sustainable environment in the Bill of Rights Act. Climate change cases are usually taken against governments or private companies. Jenny explained

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that cases against governments tend to be more successful because it is easier to prove they are obligated to uphold environmental protections. This can be proved either through domestic laws, stating they have a duty to their population, or through international treaties such as the Paris Agreement.

“It’s harder to say a private company is responsible for climate change because climate change is a global problem,” Jenny mused. “So companies will say, ‘we were acting perfectly legally, and fixing this problem isn’t our fault’.” For lawyers to uphold and enforce laws in court, good legislation must be passed in the first place.

This doesn’t mean environmental groups, activists, and lawyers have shied away from bringing private companies into the courtroom. In Aotearoa, Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) sued seven of our biggest polluters, including dairy giant Fonterra, in public nuisance and negligence on climate change grounds. The case was thrown out by the Court of Appeal in October 2021. But in April 2022, the Supreme Court granted leave for this decision to be challenged.

The biggest landmark ruling against private companies to date occurred in the Netherlands in 2021. In the case of Milieudefensie v Shell, environmental groups banded together to sue oil company Shell. The court ordered the company to cut emissions by 45% from 2019 levels by 2040.

While the cases in these examples were successful, there are many more which have not been. In Australia in 2021, eight teens and a nun sought an injunction to prevent approval to expand the Vickery coal mine in New South Wales. At first, the courts ruled not to prevent the coal mine extension, but found the Australian Environment Minister had a duty of care to young people’s future. This ruling was later overturned.

In these cases, Jenny says, there is a wider impact beyond the ruling. “Every single court that has considered this, as far as I know, has accepted that climate change is real, and that it’s serious, and that it’s urgent,” she said. “Even if things don’t pan out the way you want in that case, the more cases there it feels like the closer we get to these issues being properly acknowledged and addressed.”

SCS: Power of Student Action While the SCS-challenged oil and gas permits were approved last year, more exploratory permits have been assigned and continue to operate. This month, it was revealed Greymouth Petroleum was permitted to conduct seismic testing in a marine mammal sanctuary north of Taranaki, despite the 2018 ban on offshore permits.

“Obviously, climate change hasn’t hit home for our government,” Phoebe said. “I believe students do have power, but it’s quite clear [the government] don’t consider us as a group that’s important enough to listen to.”

For the students involved in SCS, the fight is just beginning. Rilke is studying Law to become an environmental litigator, hoping to work to enforce and uphold climate action through courts. The 2030 deadline to halve global emissions is a looming pressure for students hoping to work for climate action.

“I feel like we’re in a unique position as students who study Law coupled with the fact that we only have until 2030 to get major decisions made otherwise we’re truly fucked,” she said, exasperated. “My

whole life’s work is essentially going to 2030 and seeing if we’ve done enough by then, which is a huge amount of pressure.”

Putting time into climate cases before they’re even graduated is an understated leap for students amid a living cost crisis, pandemic, and climate crisis. “I would rather not be having to be spending my time doing this shit,” Lachlan said. “I would rather know my government was not drilling for oil and taking action against climate change.”

The hearing for SCS v Minister for Energy begins 25 July, nine months since they submitted their claim, and it will likely be a longer wait until a judgement is given.

“It’s about more than the decision that comes from the hearing,” says Lachlan. “It shows these decision makers that people are watching, people are here to scrutinise these decisions when they try to do things like explore for more oil in 2022.”

Minister for Energy and Resources, Megan Woods, declined to comment on the case as it’s before the courts.

What can you do:

• SCS originated with the Climate Clinic, a VUW club. Catch up with them at their clothes swap in the hub on Friday 29 July!

• LCANZ has associate memberships and welcomes engagement from students!

www.salient.org.nz

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Hope in the Climate Crisis

Words by Mika Hervel (he/him)

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Looking into the future and considering the climate crisis often feels bleak and depressing.

The science is clear. If we continue down our current path, global warming will lead to the collapse of ecosystems, severe weather events, sea level rise, and millions of deaths. Most people, particularly younger generations, realise this and have called for action. They have mobilised some of the largest political demonstrations the world has ever seen.

Often, political action can feel like banging your head against a brick wall. The ruling classes are blinded by greed and are unwilling to change their ways. Giving up seems like the only logical thing to do. But there is hope. Change is possible. Let me take you on a brief tour of the climate movement over the past decade to highlight our victories and illustrate why we cannot give up now.

First, let’s look at a snapshot of where we are now.

As of 2022, the global average temperature has risen 1.2 degrees compared to preindustrial times.

Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees was the most ambitious goal of the 2015 Paris agreement, but we are unlikely to meet it. At the current rate of warming, hot places will get hotter, wet places wetter, and the risk of extreme weather events will increase significantly. A global average temperature beyond 2 degrees will increase all these extremes.

Ecosystems will be under major pressure and some will perish. At 3 degrees, large parts of some countries will become uninhabitable and unable to feed their populations. Heatwaves will become frequent and deadly, ecosystems will collapse, and millions of people will have to leave their homes. At 4-8 degrees, things will change so quickly that the earth may not be able to support our population and billions will die.

So where is the light in all of this?

Over a decade ago, many scientists assumed humanity was on track to a 4+ degree world by 2100. But in the last decade that has shifted. If current climate policies stagnate, we are likely to end up in a 3-degree world by 2100. This is disastrous and unacceptable, but does contain a sliver of hope.

It means that there has been progress over the last decade. Ten years ago, we predicted fossil fuel consumption would rise. But in many countries, such as Denmark and the United Kingdom, it has levelled off or decreased.

Planned Coal Plants Scrapped Globally Since 2015 75%

Since 2015, 75% of planned coal plants have been scrapped and 44 countries have committed to stop building them. A decade ago, the end of coal would have seemed impossible. Today, coal is dying. It can no longer compete with renewable energy, which has made remarkable leaps in the last decade. Wind power is three times cheaper than it was a decade ago and solar power is ten times cheaper. Renewables are also cheaper than any fossil fuel power plants, despite the massive $5.9 trillion worth of subsidies propping up fossil fuels globally. 25 times more solar energy, and nearly 5 times more wind energy, is produced today than ten years ago. This is not nearly enough, but it is progress.

Progress extends beyond the energy sector.

Wherever you look, you see people and governments working hard to reduce emissions.

Countries are trying to shift to greener transport solutions and are incentivising the move from private vehicles to public transport. Innovation is resulting in low-carbon production of raw materials and artificial meat. The more we invest in these technologies, the cheaper they become, and the more they are used. We can see this in the European Union where, since 2000, greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 21%.

We have seen some progress in Aotearoa as well. In 2019, our Parliament passed the Zero Carbon Act, which set out targets for reducing emissions. This is a law which would have been unthinkable ten years ago. The Act came about because of the relentless action of hopeful people, like you and me, who www.salient.org.nz

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believed change was possible. As a result, Aotearoa released our first Emissions Reduction Plan earlier this year. Although the ERP was criticised for failing to address the dairy industry, our biggest polluter, it is a step in the right direction.

We need to be acting faster. Global warming will have devastating consequences for us in Aotearoa.

240,000 kiwis could lose their homes to sea level rise over the next 80 years. More pressure needs to be put on the Government to properly reduce emissions.

Emissions are no longer coupled with economic growth. Previously, for a nation to get richer, it had to emit more greenhouse gases. The cheapest energy sources until recently were fossil fuels, so for a nation to grow economically and develop its infrastructure, investment in fossil fuels was a necessity. This led to debates about the fairness of wealthy nations trying to restrict access to fossil fuels, which poorer nations relied upon. Now, because of increased global investment in low-carbon technologies, renewable energy has become cheaper and more accessible. This allows countries to prosper without relying on fossil fuels. For many countries, their GDP has increased even as emissions have decreased.

Not decarbonising, at this point, is a bad business decision.

There is a fundamental problem remaining: we still exist in a system which prioritises the relentless pursuit of capital to the detriment of people and the planet. Even though technologies are becoming greener and better, nothing short of a fundamental shift in our global systems and structures is required to properly address the existential threat of climate change.

Although there are positive trends, the fight is far from over. We need to use fewer resources and use them longer and more sustainably. We need to stop our reckless commodification and consumption of the natural world. We need to have better designed infrastructure, agriculture, and cities. Our global systems need to be in balance and harmony with the natural world, not exploiting it.

Sadness and hopelessness are valid emotions when facing the climate crisis. But they are also destructive because they cause apathy. The fossil fuel industry

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seeks to delay change however it can. Weaponising hopelessness is helping it do so. To create change, we first need to believe change is possible. And we have evidence to suggest it is.

Media today discusses climate change more than ever before. Climate change has become a key issue in most elections and most countries have set net-zero goals as of 2022. We need to increase the pressure on governments to ensure these promises are kept. We still have a chance to make changes to adapt to climate change, and prevent the poorest and most vulnerable from suffering. A decade ago it was predicted we would end up with a 4+ degree world, and now predictions put us on track to 3 degrees. We must keep fighting for our planet and prove the predictions wrong once again.” A decade ago it was predicted we would end up with a 4+ degree world, and now predictions put us on track to 3 degrees. We must keep fighting for our planet and prove the predictions wrong once again.”

As we continue that battle, we cannot draw our hope solely from progress. Kate Day, a veteran climate activist I spoke to recently, said, “If you measure hope purely by the progress you make, you will always be disappointed.” It is vital we look back at the climate movement and its positive trends. It is equally important to draw hope from other sources. Humans are notoriously bad at seeing the big picture, but we are great at connecting with one another. Hope can be drawn from a variety of sources beyond progress. These include faith and religion, community, friends, and family. It is vital we find sources of hope which inspire and motivate us.

Progress alone cannot do that.

I encourage you to connect with people who care about the climate, find out what brings them hope, and join in the work of building an energised, connected, and hopeful community centred around calling for a better world.

Free Fares NZ: https://freefares.nz/ Climate Clinic https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/students/ campus/clubs/directory/climate-clinic Greenpeace https://www.greenpeace.org/

School Strike For Climate: Reflecting On Pākehā-Centric Activism Words by Zoe Mills (she/they)

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CW: Discussion of Marginalisation and Racism We will remember it vividly. Thousands of students earnestly fill up streets across the country. Cardboard signs demanding climate justice bob up and down.

Teenagers decked out in hi-vis vests over their school uniforms, howling into megaphones that “this is what democracy looks like!” The School Strike For Climate (or SS4C) events rocketed New Zealand youth into a new age of activism and organisation, resulting in some of the largest scale protests that Aotearoa has ever seen, accomplishing legislative change and international attention. They have bred a new generation of climate activists.

On 12 June 2021, that momentum came to a sudden halt. The Auckland wing of School Strike abruptly announced their disbandment via an Instagram post. It highlighted that issues of racism and marginalisation towards Māori, Pasifika, and BIPOC within the group were cause for disbandment. “SS4C AKL has avoided, ignored, and tokenized BIPOC voices and demands, especially those of Pasifika and Māori individuals in the climate activism space,” read the post.

As the one year anniversary of their disbandment passed, I wanted to figure out what went wrong within the Auckland wing of School Strike that led to the marginalisation and exclusion that members described.

Sophie Handford, often dubbed ‘Aotearoa’s Greta Thunberg’, was one of the young climate activists who founded the New Zealand branch of SS4C. Leading up to the first series of strikes in 2018, she found herself becoming the face of the movement. I spoke to the Kāpiti-based activist, where she resides as the youngest city councillor, after retiring from School Strike in 2021.

The School Strike movement began in Sweden and gained media attention after thousands of students participated in strikes from school. They were protesting the lack of action being taken by world leaders to mitigate the effects of climate change.

However, cracks were already present in New Zealand’s initial approach. “We [took a] template from overseas and tried to apply it to a New Zealand context…” Sophie said. “We need to recognise [the movement should be] completely different [in New Zealand] and has a history and has a future that we’re trying to strive for, which isn’t one where people who look like me and have the same lived experiences are leading.”

Edward White, now a student at Victoria University of Wellington, witnessed more of the inner workings of the Auckland wing. He took on a ‘behind-thescenes’ role as one of the teen activists in charge of organising the strikes. “My role was just trying to figure out the best way of getting people out into the street,” he told me.

For him, the space was mostly positive. The organisation was social, and because of that, people were able to forge friendships over common interests.

However, as the movement grew, White also witnessed a growth in politics within the organisation.

“You get these, like, big personalities… because that’s what the group drew. It drew anyone who sort of thought they were a little big for their boots, because they wanted to make some change.”

“I think [politics are] just natural,” Sophie agreed.

“We all had quite strong ideas of the ways in which we wanted to see New Zealand and the ways in which we see the world… for the most part, I think everyone was just like, completely on board with the fact that we needed some serious and urgent climate justice action here in New Zealand.”

Photo: Sophie Handford Source: Facebook

Conflict started to emerge when debate arose about whether the weekly meetings for SS4C should continue to be held at Western Springs College, a school located just out of central Auckland. www.salient.org.nz

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For many of the students involved, particularly students travelling from South Auckland (a region that has a large Māori and Pasifika community), the commute was becoming unreasonable. “It takes an hour and a half [to get] there and you want to get there… people just got kind of territorial about that and didn’t want to make compromises,” Edward explained. Because a large number of the attendees were coming from high decile schools from the central city, a clear divide began to grow.

Issues of structural racism within the movement started to be brought to light when the first date of the strike in 2018 was set to take place on the same day as Polyfest. “Being from the school that I was from, I had no idea about the significance of Polyfest,” Edward explained.

Polyfest, hosted annually in Manukau, is the largest Māori, Pasifika, and BIPOC cultural festival in the southern hemisphere, drawing over 100,000 visitors a year. Hosting the strike on the same day forced a number of students to choose between the festival or the strike. This troubled some members of SS4C, which was already a “white-dominated space” (as described in the disbandment statement). The 2018 Head Girl of Aorere College, Aigagalefili Fepulea’i-Tapua’i, made an appearance on The Project in which she discussed the significance of Pasifika voices within the climate change movement.

She highlighted the fact that the Pacific Islands are among the first nations experiencing the direct effects of climate change. Hosting the strike on the same day as Polyfest didn’t make any sense. “Who are the people making these decisions, why are there no brown voices in these conversations?” she asked.

“Structural racism found its way into School Strike by virtue of the fact that we, you know, live in Aotearoa, New Zealand, which we have to recognize has a history of colonisation…” Sophie told me.

Photo: Aigagalefili Fepulea’i-Tapua’i Source: @rascal.gal

Enter 4ThaKulture (4TK). 4TK was established in South Auckland a year after the first School Strike.

Aigagalefili Fepulea’i-Tapua’i herself is co-founder of this climate change collective. The organisation describes themselves as a collective of indigenous youth whose work focuses on climate action for Pacific Island nations. “4TK happened as a bunch of brown kids who went to the second [school] strike and didn’t see themselves being represented,” Fepulea’i-Tapua’i says in the documentary High Tide Don’t Hide (2021).

“You’ll see a bunch of problematic things the Pākehā organisers did to the indigenous people in the space,” Luke Wijohn, an indigenous climate activist, says. “I mediated these disputes to a degree, and we

were able to hold the groups together for the strikes, but it was always a sigh of relief when we made it to a strike without imploding.” Luke was a leader within the Auckland wing of SS4C during 2018-2019, and became one of the youngest ever list candidates for the Green Party. Now based in Wellington, he tells me that disbandment of the group was inevitable.

“Covid was the main nail in the coffin. All of the branches of SS4C around the country seemed to die out during Covid, the others just didn’t make a media moment out of it like [Auckland] did.”

The disbandment of Auckland’s wing of School Strike on 12 June 2021 was met with mixed reactions from the public. The organisation received praise for their accountability and honesty, but there was some disappointment because disbanding removed accountability from the organisers. “... it just seemed to give up,” White tells me.

Luke told me through Twitter DM: “[The organisers at the time of disbandment] tagged a bunch of indigenous climate activists in their post (me included) making people think we told them to dissolve lol. We did not.”

from Australia, and going cool, we’re gonna make the exact same thing work in New Zealand,” Sophie said. “I think that would be the first thing… grounding ourselves in the New Zealand context and what that means for us as a movement… [recognising that] we inherently have an obligation to those in the Pacific as well being a Pacific Island country,” she concluded.

“We needed to be more sort of coherent with our goals…we didn’t have any sort of tangible plan to actually get there,” Edward said. The group itself lacked formal mentors to guide them in creating a stronger culture of diversity and inclusivity.

“You immerse the activism in the communities that already exist.”

As the ex-organisers reflected on their experience in retrospect, it became clear that instead of focusing on tackling climate justice within the New Zealand context, the organisers had set off to simply achieve the broad goal of achieving climate justice in general. This meant that SS4C lacked the cooperation and consolidation needed to unite the movement as a whole.

However, Sophie’s experience tells another story. “[The leaders at the time] genuinely thought [disbanding] was the best thing for the movement, and it would create more space for others to come forth and to occupy within the climate movement,” she explained. “It’s what made them feel the most kind of safe… we got to recognise, too, that these are 15, 16, 17 year olds… if that’s what they felt like was gonna give them that time to work through this… that was done with the right intention.”

I asked the ex-organisers what the movement could have done better.

“Not just taking a system or a structure straight from Sweden, and from other countries in Europe, and

Photo: Luke Wijohn Source: Abigail Dougherty/Stuff NZ

VUWSA—Students’ Association Political and Creative Yarns: Your Guide To Sustainability Week!

Words by Sophia Honey (she/her) It’s time for the most creative, fun, and zero-waste week of the year: Sustainability Week!

This has been a big year for sustainability at our university with the ‘No Disposable Cups on Campus’ scheme becoming a long-term policy at our cafes. This was done with the help of Auraki cups, which you have been using this year to get your caffeine fix. With the start of a new trimester, this is your reminder to keep bringing your own keep cup or to use an Auraki cup around campus. Otherwise you will be left sadly caffeineless! Please be considerate to the staff who are working hard to clean the cups.

Another exciting initiative this year is that you can now pick up period underwear for only $11.50 from the VUWSA office! For the price of only two boxes of tampons, you can pick up some stylish underwear made by MyCup. This is a perfect way to ditch the waste from tampons or pads.

FILM

This year’s Sustainability Week has an arts and crafts theme running through it! On Tuesday, you can bring some clothes in for basic repairs to our workshop at Te Aro campus. This is hosted by Sustainability Trust, and our friends at Massey University have also been invited! We will also be running a Beeswax Wrap workshop on Friday to teach you how to make your own reusable wrap (much better than lame glad wrap). These arts and crafts are a reminder that with a little creativity, we can reuse materials and participate in a circular economy.

It’s also important to remember sustainability in the local body elections coming up! Vote, vote, vote, and when you do: please vote green. Listen to your candidates about what their vision for sustainability in Wellington is. Hold them accountable to these promises and show them that this is a priority. Look out for resources, like climate score cards from Generation Zero, that indicate your most environmentally-friendly candidates. There will be a panel discussion about sustainability with some local candidates on Thursday 28 July from 1pm in the Hub, so be sure to pull up.

I am so lucky to work with you and our sustainability groups to make our campus a more accessible and green space. Let’s celebrate this week and keep having discussions about how to be more ambitious and green. Get involved! Get green! Check out awesome campaigns like Greenpeace’s mission to cut out nitrogen fertiliser (which can be found at https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/actionon-fertiliser/) . Get involved in a sustainability group on campus because it’s definitely not too late in the year! And come say hi to me at the VUWSA office in the Student Union Building - I don’t bite and I love to chat.

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85 Ghuznee St, Te Aro, Wellington www.splendid.nz @splendid.nz

Kaitoke Fireball Words by Tharushi Bowatte (she/her) Our eco-critical superstar is back once again to wow us with her words. In this week’s Environment issue, Tharushi Bowatte from Rock Dog Podcast writes about her experience seeing the comet in Kaitoke a few weeks back.

I was in Kaitoke when the comet dropped, 7 July 2022.

We had just eaten pretzels on the stony riverside. A lesbian duck couple were loitering in the emerald water, nibbling tiny things off the bank. What did we talk about before the comet dropped? Love Island, how nice it is to be in the bush (it’s very nice), and that there’s no delineation between soil science and geology. Suddenly, there was a streak of orange as quick as a blink. A minute later, a geological rumbling. The kind of sound you feel rather than hear.

The Kaitoke Fireball. I think that’d be a great name for a racehorse. Fastest in the world. Faster than sound.

The last time a comet was seen in Aotearoa was on 7 July 1999. The coincidence moves me. I feel very taken by serendipitous events. When seemingly disparate phenoms lock in, joined by a connecting strand. The same day 23 years apart: a comet. Coincidences are the juice of life. So ubiquitous. So necessary.

Scientists have ascribed patterns to many environmental coincidences. Things mutate. They evolve. And predictably end up as their elite physiology or equilibrium. But don’t forget that the

first chrysalis was a coincidence. Likewise when Gondwana unravelled into continental fragments. Or that water ever ended up on Earth. In the Hadean eon, billions of stars accidentally exploded. The solar system happened to form. Essential elements were randomly generated. Earth was blushing because there was no life, no rocks, and no water. Just lava.

In a spontaneous move, Earth invented rocks. And then…a meteor fell. It probably carried the ingredients for water. I’d like to think that the watercarrying meteor dropped on some 7 July.

Sometimes I think climate change anxiety takes over a bit too much.

We get caught up in words like “degraded resource” or “environmental management.” Start talking about how Tupperware will save the earth. Of course, climate change discussions are crucial. But they don’t acknowledge the imposed disjunction between humans and the environment.

We pretend we are outside of the ecological sphere.

That we can control it or are philosophically above it.

Sometimes I think we are mourning too soon. The web of life is rich with surprises. Delightful and exciting.

If we reendow the environment with its inherent mystique, we may situate ourselves better to take on climate change. Arrogance and disillusionment have brought us into this mess. Consider me an advocate for deference. I know which racehorse I’ll be bidding on. www.salient.org.nz

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Tukua mai ō whakaaro mō te tāone ki tua Have your say on the future of the city The Proposed District Plan deals with some of the City’s key issues like enabling housing and protecting our natural environment.

Have your say at wcc.nz/pdp Submissions close 12 September 2022

Sustainability Looks Different for Everyone Words by Teddi (they/he/she)

& Kelly Mui (she/her)

Teddi:

Kelly:

I am not a picture of environmentally sustainable living because my life is centred around my health.

Every medication I take comes in printed boxes, plastic capsules, or plastic bottles. A month’s supply of everything that keeps me functioning creates a lot of waste. If the chemist runs out of the small plastic bottles, I might get them in a glass jar which I can recycle. But either way, they end up in my pill organiser, which is more plastic.

As someone with chronic illness, within a few short weeks I accumulate so much waste from different things, including plastic medicine bottles, tablet blister packs, metal canisters, plastic inhaler shells, cardboard boxes, and paper scripts. Despite living in a reasonably sized room, I find myself drowning in empty blister packs and boxes every second week. I look around and wonder how much I, and all people who use medicine, contribute waste unnecessarily.

I have to drive to pick up prescriptions. My local chemist is not within walking distance, and with buses being what they are for my suburb, it would take me an hour to get there and back. Using the bus would probably mean I wouldn’t be able to do much else for that day. I don’t know if my medications are made in the country, but as long as they are working, I would import them if I had to.

Medication is a necessity, but does everything need to come in plastic these days? I can visit any chemist and find supplements I need in a sturdy glass jar. I’m always aware the average person may be able to open this but that someone with a physical, mental, or neurological disability may not. Thinking about that makes blisters make a lot more sense.

Other times my health can make me live sustainably.

I can’t eat much meat or dairy products. “Budget vegan” is what I call my diet. I try to live as sustainably as possible. Sometimes I can’t and that’s okay.

Sustainability is not a single-person movement, so it’s okay if your sustainable life sometimes has plastic packaging.

There are other ways we can package these things, but it would be less convenient and might increase the cost and accessibility of the medications we rely on. This issue has become one of sustainability versus accessibility. While I and most of the public rightly prioritise accessibility, why should we have to give up sustainability?

We shouldn’t. But currently the world relies so much on plastic that anything else is a little less accessible or more expensive. I don’t need to tell you how important it is to ensure costs are low and accessibility is high.

So for now, we will have to make do. Sometimes there is no way to be completely sustainable. Doing your little bit creates a huge positive effect, but that should not come at the cost of adding difficulty to a life that may already be a little bit difficult.

www.salient.org.nz

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Live, Laugh, Lav Words by Lav (she/her)

Dear Lav,

Hey Lav,

How do you get over someone? I’ve been trying for months and it seems like nothing’s working.

Hey you.

I am dating someone new and have some conflicting feelings. I feel like I should feel a certain way and find I don’t. He’s really cool, we get along well and have fun, and I’m also attracted to him. But I don’t feel that spark I want, so I don’t know…

I’ve been there many times and it’s a rough place to be.

I guess my question is: how do you know someone is right for you?

The only way to “get over” it is to get through it.

You have to feel your feelings. You have to let them be. You have to sit with them and process what happened without judgment, and with full compassion. The sooner you allow yourself to fully exist in the pain of the breakup, the better. Don’t give yourself a time frame. That’s a sure-fire way to make yourself feel like a failure if you don’t achieve it.

Confused

Then, focus on yourself. Do things you never did with your ex. Get to know yourself again and rebuild a life you feel good about. Maybe read new books, get new hobbies, hang out with new people, or visit new places. Most importantly, you should focus on the things you can do and the person you can be now that you’re no longer with your ex.

I think butterflies are great, the “spark” is fun. It can also be a trap. I’ve had much more fulfilling relationships without that spark, where the connection grew into something super meaningful and deep. And I’ve also had shitty, trash, dumpsterfire relationships where we grew out of our “insane chemistry.” I personally no longer consider the spark a prerequisite.

AJ

I also am a big fan of going no-contact with an ex.

It’s really tough, but it gives you a lot of time and space to grow and reflect.

Heartbreak sucks, but you’ll get through it, I promise.

Have a question or need some advice? Send all your queries to: loveandsexsalient@gmail.com

Hey Confused!

Answer is simple. You don’t.

You take a chance. You assess whether you have the qualities to grow together in a relationship and make each other feel good, desired, happy and supported.

You said you’re dating someone new. It takes a looooong time to form a deep connection and attachment to someone. I think we are all fooled into thinking that “true love” happens quickly, and you just know. But really, it takes many months to build something.

Ask yourself these questions: do you feel like yourself with this person? Do you feel secure and supported?

Do you feel like you trust them? Do you enjoy the physical intimacy?

If you’ve answered yes, then you have a good base to grow from. If the answer is no, and after some time you still don’t feel that connected to this person, do not try to convince yourself to stay. I am certain you will find someone you’ll share a connection with in the future.

Storycraft: Where Your Imagination Has Company Words by Martha Hardstaff (she/her) and Fraser Rivers (he/him) Storycraft is for those of us who spend half our days with our heads in the clouds. Despite how magical being a writer can make the world, often it can be a lonely hobby amidst the pressures of work and uni. Creative writing groups provide community, inspiration, and a regular place to come and write to keep up the habit. Te Herenga Waka’s student run creative writing group is called Storycraft, and we’d love for you to join!

Who are we?

Martha (she/her): Hello, my name is Martha! Born in England and raised in Paekākāriki, I’ve loved writing for as long as I can remember. Like many aspiring authors, I hope to one day publish a book!

In the meantime, I have the immense pleasure of cofacilitating Storycraft, and being a part of the cosy little writing community we have created here.

Fraser (he/him): Kia ora, my name is Fraser. I was brought up on the Kāpiti Coast, for the most part in Raumati South. I always loved the idea of writing growing up, but I never trusted myself to put pen to paper. My ideas were mostly relegated to an overactive imagination and the occasional doodle.

Writing has recently become far more accessible to me. I joined Storycraft last year and have since become co-facilitator with Martha. Now I have every opportunity to flex my creative muscles and enjoy sharing that experience with others.

Here are some of the things we might chat about: “What are some books you read as a child that stuck with you?” (Theme: Childhood) “How do you like to use different landscapes in your writing? Which one is your favourite to work with?”

(Theme: Landscapes).

“Your pet parrot has been learning to repeat things you say. It’s cute at first, then annoying. But then it says something unexpected, something you never taught it to say…” (Theme: Birds) “One day the weather just stops; an unnerving stillness that sets the teeth on edge. One cannot help but feel like something is building. A storm? Or something much much worse?” (Theme: Weather).

Us facilitators read out the prompt, set the timer, and away we go! Afterwards, people can share what they have written if they want to, but there is no pressure.

We also occasionally run Storycraft events.

In Trimester One, we did a bunch of Camp NaNoWriMo support sessions for those tackling the ambitious writing challenge. At the end of the year we come together to hand-make physical books full of writing from everyone in Storycraft! It’s a lot of fun, and it’s nice to have something physical at the end of it.

What is Storycraft?

Where to find us?

Storycraft is a creative writing and peer support group that is part of Manawa Ora — Student Wellbeing. Every week we come together to chat, write, and eat snacks!

Storycraft is based in SU219, a club room just off the Bubble! We run on Wednesdays at 5:30pm every week during the trimester, and on Zoom during the mid-tri break. Masks are currently mandatory at our meetings. If you have any questions, please email us at storycraft@vuw.ac.nz

Each session has a theme, and facilitators use that theme to provide the group with discussion questions and writing prompts!

www.salient.org.nz

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Pasifika Students’ Council Te Tangi o te Natura

Words by Teherenui Koteka (she/her) Kia akara toku mata ki teia e tupu nei

My eyes take in the world

te akaroa e

How sad it is

te vinivini i te rave a te ngaru I to tatou oneone

I fear the turning of the waves, the unfurling of the land

Eaa ra i tupu ei?

What has happened?

kua akarongokore o te tangata ki te reo o to tatou ao natura

Te ao natura pleads for assistance

te tuatua ua mai ra te one o te enua kare ra to tatou pokai taringa I akarongo atu kua uri ke tatou kua kopekope tatou ko teia tei tupu kua tae mai te ngaru ite takinokino i to tatou ipukarea te noo ua nei au ma te akamaara I tei tupu ki to tatou ipukarea

But her cries fall on deaf ears We have changed.

We have gotten lazy.

This is what has happened.

The ocean has come to swallow our home And still we sit As though te ao natura hasn’t warned us this would happen The beauty of our paradise has been stolen I ask you, what should we do?

We have met a suffering of our own making

kua peke tona manea ki tetai ke

We forget, STAND FOR STAND FOR STAND FOR STAND FOR STAND FOR nei manakoangaELECTION I tana I ELECTION eaa ta te tangata ELECTION ELECTION ELECTION The care our environment shows us. rave?

Kua ravei I tona uaorai anoano

We must care for her

kua ngaropoina iaia e

Hold her

te akamaroiroi maira to te one

Hear her desires

kia akono iakia mouria ia te anoano ta te natura e anoano mai ra Ammmiiiiiiiii aiiiiiaaaaanoooooo

And she will do the same Ami Aiano!

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Word of the Week: Environment Te Reo Māori: Taiao New Zealand Sign Language:

WEEK 14 ANSWERS

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SUDOKU

CROSSWORD: SAY WHAT?

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Mexican state for which a famous hot sauce is named (7)

1. Maths branch dealing with angles, for short (4) 2. ____ Bay, suburb on the Miramar Peninsula (7) 3. Frightening (5) 4. ‘Space ___’ (David Bowie hit) (6) 5. Season in which the vernal equinox occurs (6) 6. Sharp front tooth (7) 7. Animal life of a region; counterpart to flora (5) 8. Gives a signal boost on a certain social media site (8) 11. Shade of deep blue; city in ‘Pokemon’ where you battle Misty (8) 13. Wealthy Auckland suburb where John Key lives (7) 15. Mountain that no tourists were permitted to climb in 2020, due to the pandemic (7) 16. Brags (6) 17. First half of a trip to 15-Down (6) 19. November birthstone; 1969 Alfred Hitchcock film (5) 20. Din; ruckus (5) 21. Rubber that meets the road; Pericles’ kingdom, in Shakespeare (4)

5. More rigid; harsher, as a punishment (7) 9. “That vote was rigged!” (1,6,1,7) * 10. Nickname for Pennnsylvania, due to its place in the ‘arch’ of the original colonies (8,5) * 12. ‘The Final Countdown’ band (6) 14. Cleric (6) 18. “Bullshit!”, more politely (5,8) * 22. It can have packages at your door the next day (7,8) * 23. Ends of hosepipes (7) 24. Place for an operation, or for ‘Oedipus Rex’ (7)

Aries You can expect a nice, steadypaced week. If I’m being honest, you may find yourself with nothing to do. But an Aries once said to me, “only boring people get bored.”

Cancer Oh dear, looks like I’ve found another Zodiac sign suffering from poor school/life balance.

Cancer! You’re burning out!

Stop putting everything else before self care. For the love of GOD, please!

Libra You’ve been making good impressions recently! Seems you have quite the positive reputation at the moment, even if you’re completely oblivious to it! Gee, what’s it like to be so lovely, Libra?

Capricorn A bomb is about to be dropped.

Someone has been keeping a secret from you. People feel scared to tell you things sometimes because they’re terrified of your cold shoulder. Approach this situation gently.

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Taurus Enjoy the company of your siblings this week! Brothers and sisters can be annoying (believe me, I know), but you’re at the age where you can start seeing each other as human beings instead of glorified pets.

Leo The sun is moving into Leo, causing your solar return [Read: It’s birthday season, baby!]. Be dreamy, extravagant, and the centre of attention just like you love to be. It’s a stereotype for a reason you know. ;)

Scorpio It has come to my attention that I haven’t been writing very positive horoscopes for you, Scorpio. For this, I am sorry, and I promise to start doing better if you do too.

Aquarius Family, as a rule, is always complicated. But you will always have autonomy. It’s hard to stand up to the people closest to you, but you’re grown, and you can make your own decisions.

Pursue what you really want.

Gemini Declarations of affection are coming your way! The people you love will tell you how much they adore you. If this doesn’t ring true, it may be your turn to dish out the words of affirmation. <3

Virgo Virgo, I commend your stoicism, but you don’t need to put on a brave face all the time. It’s okay to open up and be honest about your weakest moments. It’s your time to learn this lesson.

Sagittarius A creative opportunity is showing up for you at uni! Maybe it’s an assignment you fall in love with, or a new club, or something else that comes completely out of left field.

Get excited!

Pisces Great news! Success concerning one of your passions! A skill or talent you’ve been nurturing has grown from a seed into a beautiful plant. People are noticing! Keep going.

THE SALIENT TEAM YOU CAN THANK THESE PEOPLE FOR YOUR WEEKLY FIX.

Editor Janhavi Gosavi

News Editor Beth Mountford

News Editor Azaria Howell

Designer Alice Brown

Chief Reporter Ethan Manera

Sub-Editor Tessa Keenan

Features Editor Ronia Ibrahim

Staff Writer Bridget Scott

Staff Writer Maia Ingoe

Staff Writer Zoe Mills

CENTREFOLD ARTIST This week’s amazing cover and centrefold are brought to you by: Fiesh, aka Raad

Contact Us

Social Media Manager Seren Ashmore

Podcast Manager Francesca Pietkiewicz

Website Manager Annalise Scott

features@salient.org.nz poetry@salient.org.nz editor@salient.org.nz designer@salient.org.nz chiefreporter@salient.org.nz news@salient.org.nz

CONTRIBUTORS Mika Hervel Sophie Honey Tharushi Bowatte Niamh Vaughn

Sophia Willis Puck Martha Hardstaff Kelly Mui

Teddi Lav Fraser Rivers Teherenui Koteka

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