OraTaiao strongly endorses a statement in the Future of Local Government draft report, He mata whāriki, he matawhānui. “Fundamentally, we consider at the core of a future for local government is a stronger focus on wellbeing.”
To help mitigate climate change and improve peoples’ health, our submission says that local government should ensure:
- Fertile land around urban areas will be used for local, sustainable and resilient food production
- Everyone can live in a warm, dry, healthy home
- Councils and community groups work together to plant millions of trees in urban and regional spaces
- Aotearoa NZ will be a country where most people travel by active and public transport
- The soundscape of towns and cities gives a sense of wellbeing and belonging
- Young peoples’ voices on the environmental crises are heard by lowering the voting age to 16
Prepared by OraTaiao representative Dr James Hamill, our full submission can be read here.