Successful Campaigns

1 Feb 2021: The Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced she will introduce new legislation that will remove the ability to petition and block Māori wards on Councils who wish to have them. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/changes-to-fundamentally-unfair-process-to-make-way-for-mori-wards The legislation will be retrospective to allow the councils which have voted for Māori wards in the last few months to not have to face referendums. It will give other councils around Aotearoa until May to decide whether to introduce a Māori ward in time for the council elections in 2022. From next year our councils will have better Māori representation, make better decisions with better outcomes, and stronger connections to local hapū. Our hearts are with each and every person who has pulled it into reality.

This petition was delivered in July 2020: https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/122241314/30000strong-petition-to-make-matariki-a-public-holiday-moves-onto-next-stage. In September the Labour Party joined the Green and Māori parties in confirming they would make Matariki a public holiday if in government. Of course, it is not only this petition that led to Labour’s announcement. Many Māori over many years have been working for Matariki to be given the recognition it deserves. The first public holiday for Matariki will be 24 June 2022! https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/future-matariki-public-holiday-dates-revealed

The petition was delivered to Parliament on 21 March 2019, five days after being launched - later the same day the Government announced all military style automatic weapons will be banned. Watch: https://www.facebook.com/ActionStationNZ/videos/337544046965351/ Report from the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee: https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/SCR_87811/e39e119082aad70fc8b775b2320ff7cbcae993ef

15 May 2018: It's been announced this morning that funding has been restored for the 'Growing Up in NZ Study', the biggest longitudinal study about growing up in NZ. Katie Tuck is a parent of one of the children on the study who led a community campaign on OurActionStation to restore the funding. She says: "This is fantastic news as this means that all study families will have the chance to participate, we will get to hear the voices of all the study children and the cohort is maintained. Thank you all for your support." https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/103901353/budget-2018-2m-for-nzs-biggest-longtitudinal-study-about-growing-up-in-nz

We are excited to inform you that the Healthy Homes Guaruntee Bill has recently been passed in government. This is a positive step in the right direction, and was made possible because of the public support and attention this issue has recieved. By signing our petition, you have shown parliament that this is an important issue that requires attention. We hope to continue advocating for this incredibly important topic in the future, and are excited of the prospects that we can achieve when we unite and advocate for the important issues. Thank you so much for the support, Kind regards, The MSGA team 2017

October 2019 A container deposit scheme trial has been announced! https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/returning-empty-bottles-refund-could-revived-v1 The Kiwi Bottle Drive team delivered our petition to Parliament on December 2nd, 2018. We handed over our petition, signed by 15,450 Kiwis (including offline signatures), to Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick with the support of her Parliamentary colleagues MP Gareth Hughes and Minister Eugenie Sage.

Thank you for helping to make a difference. You were amongst the 32,337 who demanded the unfreezing of Radio New Zealand’s funding, and on 25 May the ice thawed. A month after we delivered our petition to Parliament (together with Jo Bond's Fund RNZ petition - see https://medium.com/actionstation/32-337-demand-government-unfreeze-radio-new-zealand-funding-2b310ed3271d), the Government responded with a $2.85m funding boost in the Budget 2017. People power has prevailed in this case. The quality independent journalism that RNZ delivers is crucial to maintain our democracy. The Government has finally done something to recognise this. But, it doesn’t go as far as we’d hoped. Dr Peter Thompson (Coalition for Better Broadcasting Chair) recently calculated that RNZ is now underfunded by $14m a year. When you compare this boost to the $60 million per year the Government has committed to attracting Hollywood Producers, it does make you wonder about priorities. While we celebrate the $2.85m boost there’s still work to do to ensure RNZ thrives beyond the next four years.

Thank you for helping to make a difference. On the 25th of May I flew down to Wellington to deliver our petition to the Minister. It was because of your support, and the support of more than 9000 others, that Minister Anne Tolley agreed to meet with me. Together we showed her this issue cannot be ignored. When I asked her what could be done to help people and families facing the impossible choice between homelessness or unmanageable debt over the coming winter months, the Minister acknowledged the urgency of the situation and told us she would look into possible solutions. Just a few hours after our meeting, the Minister’s office called to tell us that changes to the policy will be brought forward from September to 1 July. These changes will mean that the first week of emergency housing would be covered by a special needs grant rather than a loan. A week is not going to be long enough if there is nowhere to go once that week is up, so the Government still has a lot of work to be done to make sure there are enough houses for people to move into.

I want to give a massive mihi to all those who are continuing to mount the pressure on our elected officials to stand up and condemn the blatant genocide we have all been witnessing for at least the last 9 weeks, but which has been occurring for 75 years. Kia haha, kia māia, kia manawanui. Keep up the pressure and do not relent - they underestimate the power of the people. Whilst we had indications that the petition would be able to be added to the agenda at the final public hui of the year, December 14th, those verbal assurances were not honoured by those who uttered them. Instead, the petition has to be validated by governance, which must be done within 60 days or 2 meeting cycles depending on what comes first. Once validated and accepted, the petition will be added to the agenda and the public/petitioners should be invited to speak. We do intend to speak to council should the petition make it to an agenda, and bring up their utter failure on not honouring the critical nature of this issue and limiting their humanity to the bounds of ‘council policy’. We will update you in due course. BUT, THIS IS NOT THE END. I want to issue another call to action for you all. A suggestion of various actions you can and should take to make sure the pressure does not let up this holiday season. Continue to email and message Mayor Paula Southgate ([email protected]) and remind her that a private statement is not the same as a statement from HCC and does not mean much when her power is so much more - and reference the hypocrisy of all HCC did for Ukraine in 2022. Comment on HCC and elected officials instagram and FB posts with “Free Palestine”, “HCC must stand against genocide” etc. Let them know we’re judging them. Do steps 1 and 2 for our national government officials too! Keep an eye on local events, rallies, and vigils and SHARE and show up if you can. Presence matters. BOYCOTT AND CANCEL - https://boycott.thewitness.news/ https://bdsmovement.net/ Continue to talk about the issue with everyone, and keep sharing. Keep signing and sharing other petitions. Again, thank you for all you do/are doing. Keep up the pressure, we owe Palestine endurance. Mai te ara, ki te moana, Free Palestine. Ngā mihi, E

December 17, 2020 was a very significant day for our tūpuna and whānau of Makaurau Marae, for the Ihumātao papakāinga and for the iwi and hapū who whakapapa to this whenua. The Crown announced it will acquire the contested land from Fletcher and activate a process to determine its future.