Mar - Apr 2026 Pānui

Nau mai, haere mai.

The first months of 2026 have been a sharp reminder that climate change isn’t abstract or theoretical. Our friends, whānau, communities are experiencing impacts and disruptions of more frequent and intense storm events. It was reported recently that Aotearoa has experienced a storm on average every eight days in the last year.

Our own Vicktoria Blake, OraTaiao Executive Board member, recently evacuated her home due to storms and slips in Pōneke. She reminds us to be prepared and have a 'grab bag' in case you need to leave home suddenly.

Your climate and health mahi matters. The conversations you have at work, with your community, friends and family about what climate change means for us matter. Your articulation of what we must do to address it and confront the systems of power that perpetuate it matters.

To push forward this election year and gain ground, we must work together to demand a Government that prioritises our people, our health and takes climate change seriously. We must push for a Government that understands equity and recognises the value of te Tiriti to us all and acts on this.

We need everyone in OraTaiao, all our wonderful members, to be active over election year. You have a role no matter how much you can contribute – a lot or a little.

Ki te kotahi te kākaho ka whati ki te kāpuia e kore e whati

If there is but one reed it will break, but if it is bunched together it will not

Harakeke against a bright blue sky.

This pānui contains many small and larger opportunities for you to act, and there are more to come. We are also planning more opportunities for our members to connect with each other in-person and find their place in election year mahi. Stay tuned for more on this.

We appreciate all that you do and we love hearing from you. If you have anything you'd like us to share with members or ideas for OraTaiao, please get in touch.

Noho ora mai rā,

Summer

OraTaiao news:

Introducing our two newest Executive Board members, Drs Lisa Mcilwraith and Susanna Lee Watts

At the Special General Meeting in February, we had two new Executive Board Members confirmed.

Dr Lisa Mcilwraith has been a GP for 18 years, working in Tasman. She has additional training in Mental Health and Lifestyle Medicine, as well as a Masters in Biological Anthropology. She has always loved being in the outdoors and felt strong desire to protect all living things.

Dr Susanna Lees Watts is training in paediatrics and infectious diseases. She returning as an Executive Board Member, having previous served in 2019 and 2020. She is completing a Diploma in Tropical Medicine at the University of Nagasaki. She says that with the election this year, it is an crucial time to create awareness and is looking forward to making a difference in this space.

Watch Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen's speech, at our Special General Meeting, introducing the Kaitiaki Hauora election year campaign

OraTaiao are proud members of Kaitiaki Hauora, an alliance of more than 30 health organisations, standing up this election year to push political parties for a well-funded, te Tiriti-lead public healthcare system.

We were lucky to have long-time OraTaiao friend Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen as our Guest Speaker at our Special General Meeting to introduce Kaitiaki Hauora and highlight how you can get involved.

Watch his kōrero via this zoom link and enter this passcode: wC*Q#A4q

You can take your first Kaitiaki Hauora action now, sign petition to stop the privatisation of eye health services.

Privatisation undermines public healthcare. Outsourcing core services shifts control away from public hospitals and into private hands, changing incentives, accountability, and the long-term direction of the system.

Please take 2 mins sign and share the Kaitiaki Hauora petition here.

OraTaiao mahi

Executive Board member Dr Steve Grimson reports back from Global COACH in Europe

"In late March and early April, Convenor Summer, Coordinator Marnie and I travelled to Europe to take part in the face-to-face component of the Global Community Organising and Advocacy for Climate and Health (COACH) Fellowship. The fellowship is organised by Harvard University’s FXB Centre for Health and Human Rights, and was hosted at the Harvard Centre for Hellenic Studies in Nafplio, Greece. The content is based on the work of Michael Ganz (whose book, People Power Change, is one of the gospels of community organising and well worth a read). We covered strategy, tactics, relationship building, communication, capacity and leadership development in climate and health movements. OraTaiao was one of ten teams selected to participate from almost 700 applications from all over the world. The week in Greece was extremely valuable and we’ve already begun to apply what we learned to our mahi.

Marnie, Steve and Summer above the town of Nafplio, Greece.

We also took this opportunity to strengthen OraTaiao’s connections to the international climate and health community. Before the COACH programme in Greece began, we spent a week meeting with European organisations working in climate and health, to find out what they’re working on, what’s worked and what hasn’t, and scout out potential collaborations. Travelling to London and Brussels, we met with Corporate Europe Observatory, the European branch of Healthcare Without Harm, the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, and the team behind website Real Zero. We sat in on a roundtable on science policy at the European Union parliament between EU politicians and concerned scientists. The overwhelming message from all these meetings was that while Europe and the UK are dealing with the same political trends and barriers that we’re facing in Aotearoa, there are incredibly smart people working on multi-tiered solutions and achieving real wins, especially within healthcare systems. We came away with lots of useful resources and contacts. We have also committed to writing a report on this section of our trip to pass on as much of what we learned as we can. This will be made available to members as soon as possible.

Healthcare Without Harm Europe team & OraTaiao, Brussels

We went into the COACH Fellowship hoping to refine a strategy for gaining commitments from major political parties towards our election priorities and producing our election scorecard. The primary learning point from the fellowship, however, was that while OraTaiao has been doing great advocacy work, we could be doing much more to engage and organise our membership to create a powerful climate health movement; and that our election work is really just a first step towards this larger goal. So there will be much more to come and many opportunities to get involved and make a difference. Watch this space!" - Steve

Global COACH fellows and organisers outside Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies, Nafplio, Greece.

Opportunities and events

Ka Ora te Whenua, Ka Ora te Tangata: A Hīkoi of Hope

Beginning in September 2026 from Te Rerenga Wairua to Te Whanganui a Tara by Election Day 7/11, with a kaupapa of 'healthy whenua, healthy tangata, healthy future for mokopuna'.

A core rōpū is gathering, welcoming others to join at te timatanga/the start or along the way. We would appreciate support to organise hui and accommodation. More details to follow but support and suggestions welcome now.

Contact: Pip Pehi [email protected] or Robin Treadwell [email protected]

OraTaiao Transport Working Rōpū

Our Transport Working group, led by Steve Grimson, is developing its policy statement. You can contribute through this Google Doc or you are welcome to attend their next meeting at 7:30pm, Monday 18 May.

Contact Steve for more information on [email protected]

Honourable Kāwanatanga Project Questionnaire

The Honourable Kāwanatanga Project is a multi-year research initiative, supported by the Royal Society Te Apārangi Marsden Fund, that explores how kāwanatanga - authority to govern - can be exercised in ways that are truly ethical, relational, and consistent with te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Led by co-investigators Drs. Heather Came and Clive Aspin, the project interrogates the history of colonial control and theorises pathways toward an "honourable state" that upholds mana motuhake and enables genuine power-sharing.

This survey is part of Stage Two of the study where researchers hope to recruit 750+ organisations to share their Te Tiriti o Waitangi journey. They are eager to hear from people affiliated to the vast array of organisations throughout Aotearoa.

If that is you, please take the time to support the project by completing the online questionnaire here.

Sign Cycle Action Network's Open Letter 'Call to build emergency bike networks'

CAN's open letter calls for the rapid implementation of six key actions to mitigate the effects of the fuel crisis in the short, medium, and long term. Individuals and organisations can sign the letter.

Read and sign here.

Resources

OraTaiao workshop resources online!

Our survey conducted at the end of last year highlighted that OraTaiao members wanted to write opinion pieces and letters to the editor this election year. This is essential mahi to drive public discourse and put pressure on politicians. If you missed the workshops, we recorded them. Find the YouTube video and written guides below.

'Get your opinion piece published'

YouTube Video here. Written guide here.

'Get your letter letter to the editor published'

YouTube Video here. Written guide here.

**Just published: 2026 Europe report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: narrowing window for decisive health action**

"This third iteration of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Europe report systematically tracks the health effects of climate change adaptation and mitigation action, economics and finance, and the engagement of various societal actors with the climate change and health nexus, drawing on data up to 2025." Full open access article here.

Harakeke, the same plant as above but in the evening.

Please take care of yourself, have some time outside, and if you have something to share in the next pānui, please get in touch.

Marnie, OraTaiao Coordinator

OraTaiao: Aotearoa New Zealand Climate and Health Council