August 16, 2023
Pick up your climate mess, tamariki tell politicians
Politicians have received a clear message from the country’s tamariki and rangatahi – get your act together on climate change now.
That’s the message in more than 175 letters delivered to parliament yesterday by the Save the Children.
The roopu’s children’s rights advocate, Jacqui Southey, says while young people’s fears of the impact of climate change was a common theme, one letter struck a particular chord with her.
“One 6-year-old tamariki Maori, she was very passionate about rubbish at the beach – when she goes to the beach she tells her whanau to pick up the rubbish because she’s worried about it getting into the ocean and harming sea animals. This is so practical. This a real issue, rather than walk past the rubbish or be responsible for dropping it, our tamariki are telling us to pick it up, protect our animals, protect our waterways because hey really care,” she says.
Ms Southey says children see climate change happening now, and they’re particularly concerned about the impact on Pacific nations.