#108: Ain’t no party like a Climate Club party

DIY your own submission party

Mar 25, 2024

Mōrena, and happy Tuesday!

Today, we can scroll past a petition by ourselves on our couch, sign it, and forget. Maybe that’s why it can often feel isolating when you first start taking climate action. It’s a big difference from back when every signature required a conversation (or walking to Parliament with a massive scroll over four kilometres long after months of organising!). For me, it was only once we started having weekly meetings for Climate Club that I started feeling a sense of community and possibility. That’s why our aim here at CC is to introduce you to climate communities that you can join. But if you’re not quite ready to join a group just yet, may I suggest a work (or friends or whānau) submission party?

Last Wednesday, we had an after-work session in my office where we all worked to give feedback on the government’s draft policy on transport. It was a great way to talk through the issues together, and it made sure I actually got it done. I found it a really rewarding way to work on a climate action, and we got 14 submissions in!

A group of 10 people in a work kitchen, all with laptops and typing away. They are sitting at two big tables - and there is a laptop facing us with the transport policy submission website on it. — *Submission party with Dhanya’s lovely work folks + Emily + Jenny*

Have you ever considered getting a group together to do climate actions together? Here are my tips:

💬 Talk to a couple of people first before you send out a group message. This helps with gauging interest and means you know at least a few people will be in!
🎉 Make the invite casual. I knew I would be working on the submission at a certain time anyway, so I just extended the invite out to my work’s casual chat.
🍫 Snacks always help.
💻 It doesn’t have to be in-person. We had two people on zoom who did the submission while looking after kids at home!

Text thread showing a message from Dhanya. The message reads "Also! I am going to be working on submitting on the transport policy at Weds after work, around 5 or 5:30pm if anyone is keen to join me 😊 and there will be SAMOSAS." There are 8 heart reacts. — *Although I ended up forgetting the samosas… oops.*

Would you consider doing a work Climate Club group? Is there anything that would make it easier for you to start one? Let us know in the comments below and we can see if we can help!

What can we do today? Get the [submission] party started

The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was the petition asking for the government to revisit their draft transport policy.

This week our most impactful actions are submissions. Take 15 minutes to submit on one of these pressing topics:

Council Long Term Plans, due Thursday 28th March (& other due dates)

Most regional councils are doing their long term planning at the moment, and these will determine how we can respond to climate change locally.

Auckland

💃 30 min action: Auckland Council is planning on selling public assets like the Port of Auckland to pay for future expenses. However, this is a short-term solution, and in return we lose all potential revenue and public control over the asset. This also sets out Auckland’s plans for the next ten years so it is key that we take climate resilience, and the resilience of our communities, into account. Submit on the Auckland Long-Term Plan using 350 Tāmaki’s guide
💃 30 min action, Auckland, Tuesday March 26th: Join the submission party with our friends at Generation Zero.

Other regions

💃 30 min action: Search up “[your local council] + Long-term Plan” to find your local council’s long term plan, and then submit to provide a climate voice for your local council. Use the Auckland submission guide above for inspo!

Fix the Transport Funding Policy, due Tuesday 2nd April

What’s good for the climate is good for our commutes, our health, and the livability of our cities. The government’s draft transport funding policy (described in more detail last week) locks us into high carbon transport decisions that will end up making traffic worse, while also creating less safe roads for us all.

🐝 5 min action: Sign the petition
🐇 15 min action: Submit using our submission guide
💃 30 min action, online: Write your submission with others at a Transport For All Zoom submission party any evening this week 7:30pm Mon-Thu.

Kill the Bill: Fast Track Approvals Bill, due Friday 19th April

The government’s Fast Track Bill would give massive power to 3 Ministers in Wellington to basically do whatever they (or their lobbyists) want with no say from the public, reaching through not only the Resource Management Act, but 9 other laws including the Conservation Act, the Wildlife Act, and the Public Works Act. The submission has two sections for general comments, so use the guide linked below to write your own! More on this in coming weeks, but here are some early guides below if you’d like to get yours in early.

💃 30 min action: Use the submission guide by Eco Waikato to submit at this link
💃 30 min action, online & Wellington, Thursday March 28th: Victoria University Climate Clinic will be hosting an info session/submission workshop on the fast track approvals. Register to attend here.

Let’s keep our fares fare: Public Transport Half-price Fares

The Government is planning to remove half price fares for under-25s and free fares for tamariki at the end of April. Some of the discounts will stay: half price public transport for Community Services Card holders and half price Total Mobility services. This is an amazing win for us to celebrate, because the National Party said last year that they would remove these discounts. It shows that our public mobilisation in response to the Government’s actions does make a difference.

🐇 15 min action: Use Free Fares’ email guide to ask to keep half price public transport for everyone

Save the Date

Friday April 5th: Keep an eye out for strike locations (we’ll be sharing them in next week’s newsletter) for the April 5th collective strike.

Wins!

The report and proposed Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan was unanimously endorsed by the Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee on Friday 16 February 2024.
Win for Climate Club 😊 Thank you to Carbon Critical’s Net Zero Fund for including us in their list of climate organisation donees alongside some heavy hitters - including Rewiring Aotearoa who recently got huge media coverage for their new Electric Homes report!

That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy this newsletter on the possible future of fashion - I’ve been loving seeing

Jennifer Lachs

imaginative takes on our sustainable, joyful futures! Or if you’re wanting a break from reading…

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