Here's why. Music does not aline with our values in New Zealand. It is discriminatory and has the power to change our society for the worse. The first problem that can be seen is blinding. Maddie Ziegler, a neurotypical actress is playing the lead role of Music, an autistic young girl. Ziegler mimics stereotypical behaviours of an autistic person, such as stimming. Given that Ziegler herself is NOT autistic, watching her stim and be paid for it has been described as an insult by many autistic people. Whilst many people would have been alienated for stimming in real life, Ziegler is being paid for forcing the natural behaviour of an autistic person. A second problem is that if in one of the first scenes, Music is launched into a colourful world of flashing lights, something that has been described by Eden, author of the autism self-advocacy website autisticats as a "sensory nightmare." The flashing lights make the movie totally inaccessible to people who have sensory problems, or people that have photosensitive epilepsy, a common trait within autistic people. Yet another problem within the movie is that Sia has not consulted with autistic people, and has no idea what she is talking about, being a neurotypical person herself. She continuously misrepresents the autistic community and one scene that highlights this is the fact that she has portrayed Music as a character with a special interest in dogs. Music reads a book that is big and bulky and has complicated vocabulary, yet her AAC device (A device that enables nonverbal people to communicate) has only simple preprogrammed words like "happy." Despite the fact of showing Music as a highly literate girl, with her own thoughts, the only insight that we get into Music's mind, is "nauseating dance sequences". There are so many more problems, both where Sia has been racist, ableist, and more that you can read about on the autisticats website which you can find here,: (https://theautisticats.weebly.com/) but I haven't even begun to address the most fatal mistake of the film. In many scenes, Music is having a meltdown caused by sensory overload and starts flailing her arms around. The response of one of the characters is to jump on top of Music and hold her down in a restraint called prone restraint. This restraint is deadly as it can cut off airways, and the fact it is being shown could normalise this restraint causing people to use it on friends and family who are autistic and may not be able to tell them to stop if they are experiencing sensory overload. With all of these problems of the movie, it is clear that New Zealand should not show this movie, or we will increase the dangers towards disabled people. This movie could very much increase fatalities, decrease acceptance and understanding of autistic people, and put us back many years.

We have a shared vision of our Mercury Bay and surrounding areas that is safe, and feels safe in any emergency. Emergency sirens are a crucial component of our alert system for the Community. A lot of thought, discussion and research went into implementing them. The elderly, parents, workers, school children, outlying areas - the Community relies on the sirens and they have been the most reliable medium to alert people. Our Community cares, and many when hearing the sirens immediately act to assist others in need also. Deactivating our sirens not only affects people’s lives, it actually puts them in jeopardy in critical situations. There have recently been 3 major earthquakes in a 6-hour period and our community was alerted three hours after the last earthquake of 8.1. We request this decision be reversed and real community engagement is invited before the siren system is deactivated or any changes implemented. Community consultation is essential for everyone to feel safe and the best decisions made. We understand the Council is also interested in safety and are also making decisions based on what's best for the community. We have heard that: • 18 of the 27 sirens in our area are non-compliant with FENZ (Fire and Emergency) so have to be deactivated. • The coverage is patchy due to nature of the hills. • To get very good sirens will cost $5-6 million. The Council wants to explain to communities that sirens have 44% coverage and phone alerts have 93%, which still leaves some people out, but they are going to launch education that you do not wait for advice - "if long and strong get gone" and help your neighbours. We consider sirens an essential part of any emergency system for an empowered Mercury Bay community to ensure its safety. Sign to bring our concerns to Council to keep our emergency sirens.

Everyone should feel included in our society and have access to opportunities. The Government has a responsibility to ensure disabled people can access their full and equal rights. They can do this by ensuring the Ministry for Disabled People is led and run by disabled people. This will enable a society where disabled people can be fully included to be able to fully participate. Disabled form 24% of Aotearoa’s population yet experience inequitable access to health and disability services, education, a lack of accessible housing, lower employment statistics and struggle to break out of poverty through no fault of their own. There are many barriers disabled people face because society is built inaccessibly. For too long disabled have been ignored and denied equitable access and it is long overdue to bring them in from the cold. The Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Health announcement of a non-disabled person, in the form of career official Justine Cornwall, to head the establishment unit of the new Ministry for Disabled People is deeply concerning. Disabled are generally unhappy that the new transitional director is not disabled and the voice of disabled is not present. Nothing is transparent and open which is concerning disabled that this will be led but from a non disability framework. We believe that while the position is a fixed-term role, the Establishment Director will be critical in setting a culture of inclusion and accessibility that is different from the judgemental, patronising culture of the past. For the sake of authenticity, a leader who identifies as a member of the disability community should have been in that role. However, the hope is that the appointment of the permanent head of the ministry will lead to a disabled person heading it. We want nothing about us without us, including in the development of the new Ministry. Please support our petition to help us gain full, non-disabling access to society. Remember disability is the only identity that does not discriminate.

Abortion is safe, routine, legal health care in New Zealand. But it is not treated like other kinds of health care, because anti-abortion busybodies are allowed to harass people who receive abortion care, and those who provide it. A safe area is a designated space around an abortion service where anti-abortion activists are not allowed to harass people. They are often measured based on a radius from the door of the facility. The maximum radius would be 150 meters. Outside that area anti-abortion protesters are free to do as they like - but inside the safe areas they cannot target people trying to mind their own business. The abortion law reform bill last year passed without safe areas, because of a procedural error. This needs to be rectified so that people can go to their medical appointments without being bullied and abused. But the process the amendment bill sets out for creating a safe area is needlessly complicated. The process in the bill to get just ONE safe area requires an Order in Council on the recommendation of Cabinet's busiest minister (the Minister of Health) in consultation with Cabinet's second busiest minister (the Minister of Justice). Realistically, how many times is THAT going to happen? How many people have to suffer abuse and intimidation before a safe area is granted? Shouldn't the law prevent harm in the first place? We want everyone who needs abortion care to feel safe going to their medical appointments. We want everyone who provides abortion care to feel safe at their jobs. We want safe areas to be established around every place where abortion is provided from assent. The select committee can help make that happen by recommending a change to the bill, if we tell them that is what the people of New Zealand want. Let's tell them loud and clear. And then we need to make sure the bill passes! https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_99649/contraception-sterilisation-and-abortion-safe-areas

This film is ableist and includes the torture of Autism Spectrum Disorder people with a restraint method that has caused death and is a cause of massive trauma for those who have survived it. I'm really terrified about the underdiagnosis of autism. I spent 36 years not getting diagnosed for it because of media portrayals like this that are inaccurate and harmful. The fact that this has been greenlit by NZ's cinema complexes is highly disturbing. This will do damage to the ASD community as well as prevent people from getting treatment for ASD. The under diagnosis of ASD because of bad science and media portrayals has been labelled a "lost generation". You can read a harrowing paper on the effects here in a very accessible format for non-science people: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/aut.2019.0069

We agree our history needs to be known and understood in order to ascertain where we have come from, nevertheless, we also need to acknowledge our controversial colonial past and that the views of yesterday were demeaning, insulting and harmful to some. The mementos of that time should be acknowledged but not necessarily commemorated and promoted. Racism is unfortunately alive in present day Aotearoa, just as it was 100 years ago. Casual racism is still racism. We live with the effects of colonisation every day and therefore we hold a deeper understanding of how history has disproportionately disadvantaged marginalised communities. We need to be actively ensuring we promote positive environments that encourage inclusivity and diversity and maintain an anti-racist stance. We invite the Puhoi Pub to be an example in the way it shares its rich history with the general public. We support the call from the Race Relations Commissioner to remove the bullock horns. We ask the Puhoi pub to celebrate its history in ways that cause no harm. For more on the history of the naming of bullocks, Scott Hamilton: https://twitter.com/SikotiHamiltonR/status/1350646879550271491 Puhoi Pub renames its 'racist' bullock horns, calls backlash 'desperately stupid' https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2021/01/puhoi-pub-renames-its-racist-bullock-horns-after-backlash-from-the-desperately-stupid.html

Our concerns aren't isolated but sit amongst a greater context of unease. Other communities in Christchurch are confronted with the same problems and concerns as ourselves, e.g. We are affiliated with groups around the country who advocate for community focused housing including; https://www.commonground.net.nz/?r_done=1 Our shared vision is thriving communities of connected people in healthy ecosystems within a vibrant local economy. Many people who hold this neighbourhood dear to their hearts are community builders who work at creating more connections between people. What we propose is the possibility of being intentional with the design of 74 Domain Terrace. It is possible to design a housing development that creates a diverse community attractive to people from a range of ages with a variety of skills and strengths. This has the possibility of becoming an “intentional community’ where members/residents communicate with and care for each other. Such a community would be inclusive of all and everyone’s needs. The elderly need not feel isolated, and young families could experience support around them for raising children in a whanau friendly environment. Imagine creating a village to wrap around our children and the most vulnerable. Our environmental concerns are just as important to developing a flourishing community as our concerns for people. Care for the land on which we live is integral to our goals. Hence our plea for the trees and the ecological communities that they sustain. Dr Colin Merck, locally renowned ecological scientist, has conducted urban biodiversity studies in this area. https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-meurk-1284329/?originalSubdomain=nz The trees make a significant contribution to an unusually diverse range of bird life. Local residents, some seasonal, include little owls, kingfishers, bellbirds, fantails, grey warblers, paradise ducks, greenfinches, chaffinches, magpies, spur winged plovers as well as a large population of blackbirds and more common varieties like the sparrow, thrush and starling. Not forgetting the much-loved Avon hybrid ducks. The topsoil of 74 Domain Terrace is precious. The property was originally a chicken farm. The soil has never been turned or sprayed. It has supported a range of animals for many decades. Most recently horses, sheep, free range chickens and rabbits. As such it is extremely fertile and likely to be supporting populations of the foot long native worm and leaf veined slugs as does the adjoining property at 80 Domain Terrace. To leave this taonga solely in the hands of developers is to sign a death warrant for so much. Within 24 hours of the auction an arborist entered the property, without the permission of the residents, to establish a quote for the removal of the trees. The loss of the trees will have a huge impact on the local environment and community. Without these particular trees, in which they currently roost, the little owls are unlikely to relocate and will inevitably die. IT is these trees that resulted in Domain Terrace being nominated as one of the ten most beautiful autumn streets in the city. Destruction of the trees on this prominent bend would destroy the whole ambience of the street and the balance of vegetation between The Domain and privately owned land. As with all similar developments the topsoil will be excavated and stripped depriving the property of an entire ecosystem. Most importantly what will die is POSSIBILITY. The possibility of developing housing solutions in partnership with diverse stakeholders that meet the social, ecological, cultural, and economic needs of the people living there. Our desire is to have the housing company discuss their plans with the community and collaborate on what type of development best contributes to creating a sense of connection and wellbeing within the community. If the housing company can’t see sufficient profit from plans that meet the community’s needs a collective of residents is willing to buy the property back at cost price and become the principal actors of the change they want to see happening democratically in their neighbourhood. Sign our petition to have our voices heard by the Christchurch City Council. Help stop the development that threatens our neighbourhood character and values. Help bring forth a true community focused sustainable housing alternative from the competitive housing crisis which builds up the inequalities that ravage our country. PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION! https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/community-focused-housing-on-domain-tce Watch this space! It is our intention to oppose similar disconnected housing developments in the area in our quest for a more workable, holistic living environment for all our residents.

Deaf people need access to NZSL Interpreters to communicate with friends, whānau, stall holders, at public events. Formal NZSL interpreting at these events means Deaf people can follow the proceedings, speeches given by dignitaries, and participate too. Not having access excludes Deaf people from participating in commemoration events fully. This could be anything from wanting to know more about the products being sold by stall holders to having a catch up conversation with friends & whanau one meets at these events, engaging in discussions on matters pertaining to the event itself with other attendees.

The way the Department of Corrections is currently handling the Waikeria Uprising breaches the human rights of these protesters. As human beings, the protesters deserve food and water. Currently, Corrections is denying them this and won't allow anyone in to deliver these basic needs. It would be an important sign of good faith to the protesters if they are granted this basic human right. Is New Zealand a country that starves people who are protesting for basic human rights?

This petition is to demonstrate that the operational changes to be made to Mason Avenue Kindergarten, Nina Busing Kindergarten and Papakura West Kindergarten are not supported by families and the community. The Counties Manukau Kindergarten Association (CMKA) have been rolling out operational changes to all the kindergartens, which has resulted in the loss of the traditional kindy model. If this is not stopped, the last three kindergartens yet to change will be open from 8am – 3:30pm/5pm and will operate throughout the school holidays. Key points: • The quality of teaching and learning will be negatively affected by these operational changes. • Introducing multiple sessions and flexible drop off and pick up times will change the structure and create an unsettling environment for children. • Parents send their children to kindergarten to receive high quality early childhood education under a play based model that reflects the school day. • Longer hours for children - we believe the six hour session time of 8:30am – 2:30pm is long enough for 3-5 year olds. Current research supports this. • The kindergarten will be required to fill the spots for the extra hours so that funding is maximised. • Children need the holidays to rest and recharge, as do the teachers. • Kindergartens have long attracted high quality teachers and risk losing their staff due to unfavourable working conditions. • The choice parents have in regards to early childhood education is removed. A traditional kindergarten is different from a privatised daycare model. There are numerous other childcare centres in Franklin that have longer opening hours and availability during term breaks. • There will no longer be term breaks and fee paying families must continue to pay, regardless of whether their child attends or not. We strongly believe these changes are not in the best interests of our children and community. We propose that the CMKA responds to the community and Mason Avenue Kindergarten, Nina Busing Kindergarten and Papakura West Kindergarten continue to operate as a traditional kindergarten by keeping the current hours of 8:30am – 2:30pm and not operating during term breaks. These three centres are considered highly functioning kindergartens with large waitlists, active parent communities and strong fundraising capabilities - why fix something that isn’t broken? We will deliver the petition directly to CMKA CEO Calmar Ulberg and The Board of Management.

Youth One Stop Shops are designed to meet the specific needs of children and young people. It is time KYS (as a Youth One Stop Shop) was funded through an integrated and sustainable funding model that allows them to deliver the health, mental health and social services our young citizens need. The current siloed health, mental health and social service funding models mean KYS are is constantly chasing contracts and funding, which is unsustainable. Funding must ensure that services continue to be free. Cost barriers lead to the most vulnerable children and young people missing out on services. Free services remove barriers and ensure more equitable access for young people. Youth One Stop Shops, including KYS, are an expert voice on youth health and wellbeing. KYS delivers a range of health and social services under one roof. This co-location means they are able to meet the full range of needs a young person has, in a holistic and integrated way, as recommended in a recent review of the health system. However, their current ad hoc and short-term funding contracts (along with limited private donations) means they have unstable income streams. This makes it impossible to take a long-term approach to plan or to coordinate the resources necessary to support our young people in Kāpiti or expand their reach.

The proposed rules in the District Plan would enable a huge 25 year housing development programme in eastern Porirua. The project will mean over 1000 state homes knocked down, families displaced and private property acquired under the Public Works Act to free up land for property developers. The plan will see an additional 2000 houses for private sale crammed into the geographically small suburbs of Waitangirua and Cannons Creek. The main theme of the proposed district plan is to allow greater housing density, which is needed, but currently it does so in a way that discriminates on social class. Under the proposed plan the generally middle class suburbs become the low density General Residential Zone and the generally working - class suburbs become the medium density residential zone. This means reduced amenities for the east only! The plan in it's current state doesn't go far enough to tackle climate change. Porirua has an empty city centre that has space for apartment style housing that is walking distance to public transport and amenities. This space should be utilised before digging into our green belt. With over 1000 houses set to be demolished in the East we need to ensure that waste is managed and minimised, and the new builds bring an opportunity to used renewable energy sources. We need a Porirua that all people can get around and the community can live in. Our current housing stock doesn't meet the needs of our disabled and ageing whānau. Building new homes and spaces gives us an opportunity to make sure that everyone is adequately housed, can age in place and is able to participate in community. If you want to make your own submission you can do that here: https://poriruacity.govt.nz/your-council/city-planning-and-reporting/district-plan/proposed-district-plan/