We ask the New Zealand Government, Jacinda Ardern (Prime Minister), and Kris Faafoi (Minister for Justice, Immigration, Broadcasting and Media) to take a global lead for transparent democracy (he kawanatanga-ā-iwi) by declaring that New Zealand would ensure protection for Julian Assange against extradition for publishing evidence of war crimes and human rights violations in the public interest. We ask that you offer Julian Assange and his family asylum in Aotearoa.

Dear Minister of Immigration We would like to bring to your attention the suffering and stress endured by citizens, permanent residents and temporary migrants in New Zealand because of changes to immigration instructions and the way Immigration New Zealand conducts itself. Many families have been separated for years due to never ending visa processing delays and mounting application backlogs. International students are left to hang and dry due to College closures. These students have been sold a pipe dream by offshore unscrupulous education agents. Exploitation of migrant workers is an ever increasing evil because the work visas are attached to the employers making it near impossible for the workers to change jobs. The new temporary work visa announced this year may not go far enough to stop exploitation as it will also be attached to the employerlike previous visa categories. Migrants who have been in New Zealand on temporary work visas for years and years have suddenly been left without a pathway to residence despite making significant contribution to New Zealand economy. It was good to hear that the Parent Visa Category has been reopened but the income thresholds ($106,080 to $212,160) are well out of reach for all working class and most high skilled migrants. We request you to make the following changes: 1) visa processing delays for partnership based visas should be minimised urgently 2) offshore education agents should be regulated 3) code for pastoral care of international students should be reviewed to include assistance measures specifically for situations arising from college closures 4) bonded labour should be stopped by detaching work visas from employers 5) individuals on work visas already in New Zealand for 5 or more years should be given a one off work to residence pathway 6) the income requirements for sponsors under the Parent Visa Category should be removed We request you to bring about these changes to benefit the many and not just the few.

We request that all rights, services and support under the New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy be extended to people who have been granted legal status as Convention refugees.

Dear Prime Minister, Ministers, MPs and Local Government, There is an unparalleled opportunity we have been presented on the back of the terrible crisis that is COVID19. As Leaders, you are making important decisions and billions of dollars, borrowed from future generations, are about to be spent. We have come together to urge the Government to spur sustainable possibility into reality during this economic reset. With opinions from contributing experts, this letter demonstrates that by combining Mātauranga Māori, technology and systems already in existence we can: 🌏 Build a strong, resilient economy 🌏 Begin living our international reputation as a green country 🌏 Respect Papatūānuku and her biophysical limits 🌏 Foster inclusive, true wellbeing for our people and the generations to come. Doing so will result in a New Zealand with a strong, resilient, local economy that is truly sustainable and regenerative. A country that prioritises all our people and our planet. A country that respects that we are one with nature, not above. This is action that science, and legally binding international agreements, require us to urgently take. What this could look like in practice is outlined in the following Key Areas provided by respective industry experts*: 1. Methodologies and Solutions From Indigenous Knowledge: We ask that solutions that; restore the balance between people and nature; force economic investment not only within the physical limits of our ecosystems, but also within the cultural limits of the Māori worldview; and are inclusive of all peoples and knowledges be supported. For they offer us unique solutions to ensure our recovery is productive, sustainable, inclusive and world-leading. 2. Unlocking Renewable Energy: We must not invest stimulus funds in fossil fuel intense projects that will be at odds with our existing and anticipated climate targets, or bail out emissions intense businesses without strong conditions tied to our climate and energy ambitions. We urge you to consider and apply these principles in your decisions: accelerate don’t stall climate action; bring forward transformational climate investments; prepare our workforce for future jobs; uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi; continue fixing the emissions trading scheme; and measure success beyond just GDP. 3. Regenerative and Conversion Focused Agriculture: Emerging now is a viable and exciting regenerative solution for sustainable food and fibre production not dependent on fossil fuels. Based on ecological principles, regenerative farming systems mimic natural ecosystems, so that they restore rather than degrade the land and freshwaters over time. They are complex and interconnected as opposed to linear siloed approach we have currently and are inherently resilient economically and ecologically. 4. Kickstarting the Zero Waste Circular Economy: Examples of how this could look include: • Prioritise investment in systems built around reuse, including reusable packaging and sterilisation infrastructure, over recycling processors and landfills to manage throwaway packaging. These reuse systems must go all the way up the supply chain, not just focus on consumer-facing waste. • Prevent and reduce waste through phase-outs of single-use disposable items and difficult to recycle products, such as composite materials and plastic polymer types 3, 4, 6 and 7. Instead, standardise packaging and encourage reuse systems. These measures should go all the way up the supply chain, not just focus on consumer-facing waste. 5. Low Carbon Mobility: This is what transport could look like • ‘Nova Zeelandia’ will be the Holland of the South where biking is the norm not the exception. • Smart buses and other forms of public transport make personal car ownership unnecessary for much of the population. • Children walk or bike to school in safe neighbourhoods. • Most travel from Auckland to Hamilton is by fast train taking just one hour. It’s clear from these ideas that who is at the consulting table is of utmost importance. We urge you to give sustainable solutions the weight they deserve at a time when we have the means and motivation to implement them. Can we as a country be agile and lead by example on the world stage by accelerating out of this with a resilient, local, sustainable economy and inspire other nations to do so too? Or will we return to the sputtering, stalling diesel work-horse knowing, someday very soon, that beast will run out of gas? We support you to make informed decisions that are kind to both humanity and the planet for decades to come and look forward to your response to our call. KIA KAHA Leaders. *(For the full copy of the Open Letter please see https://caliwoods.co.nz/pages/covid19-open-letter-calling-for-a-sustainable-economic-re-set)

We are asking the government to change the current ‘Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations’ to enable early childcare education providers to set up and run full time nature based early childhood education (ECE) centres. Currently all ECE licences require 2.5sm of indoor space per child. A nature based centre doesn't need this indoor space, however there will likely be some form of shelter. This petition will support a formal submission that will be presented to the Minister of Education and will suggest a new licence type for nature bases ECE centres in New Zealand. When we say nature based ECE we mean centres that run their programmes almost entirely outdoors e.g. in a reserve, park, beach-lands or piece of bush. PLEASE NOTE - THIS PETITION HAS BEEN PRESENTED. YOU CAN STILL SIGN THE PETITION TO RECEIVE UPDATES ON THE NEXT STEPS AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. For further information please contact Celia Hogan, petition organiser [email protected]

More than 100 men have reportedly been arrested under suspicion of being gay in Chechnya, Russia. At least three men are reported murdered. We call on you to urge Russia to investigate the detention and murders of (perceived) gay men in Chechnya, publicly condemn this violent persecution, demand an immediate halt to the violence against the LGBTI community within Russian borders and the release of those detained.

Dear Minister of Education, School libraries transform, this to us is not a catch phrase, it is a reality. Te Mana Whakaaweawe o Te Wharepukapuka - The influential power of the library. We as school librarians know the transformative power our mahi accomplishes. We know that because of our work students gain higher academic results in NCEA. We know library users have higher literacy rates. We know our spaces provide manaakitanga. We know the community that a library provides enables our students to flourish. We have multiple stories across Aotearoa where we have seen our libraries be a haven, a place of solace, but also a busy place of noisy learning, quiet reading and a supportive community. School Libraries Transform! Many of us face budget cuts, we have had our rooms taken from us, we have had hours of work reduced. We do not want that because we know what we do has the power to transform our tamariki in their learning and well-being journeys. We ask that the Ministry of Education mandate every student to have access to a school library staffed by specialist school librarians and funded by the Ministry.

Dear Mike Chapman, Please say no to plastic fruit and vegetable stickers. Please inform your New Zealand fruit and vegetable suppliers to use bio-available materials for fruit stickers / laser printing / heat printing or whatever environmentally friendly non-plastic marking alternative is best suited to their produce. In 2005 a possible alternative was raised.* Other alternatives are also now available and being used commercially.^ Exercise your ability as a leader. Set a standard for NZ fruit and vegetable suppliers, and also send a message to the world that NZ is truely clean and green. Just because country of origin labelling was supported in a NZ survey** in 2017 does not mean people support plastic labels. Please declare a date from which plastic will no longer be on our NZ fruit and vegetables. Commercially compostable stickers are not the solution. Stickers must be domestically compostable, if any sticker at all is used. There are non-plastic and non-sticker solutions, and we are a country proud of finding solutions. Thank you, From people who care about Aotearoa

We request that you: 1. call in and decline all applications to build waste-to-energy incinerators in Aotearoa New Zealand 2. declare the rejection of waste-to-energy incinerators a matter of national significance [1] 3. refer the matter to a board of inquiry for a decision on the cumulative detrimental effects of toxic emissions and particulates falling on land and incinerator bottom ash leachate flowing from hazardous landfills into our waterways [2] 4. support the transition to a circular economy by establishing a nationwide network of resource and material recovery parks [3]

Please put a stop to the rapid increase of teachers registration fees.