Kia ora Rebels,
The international week of Extinction Rebellion began on Saturday 13 April in Aotearoa New Zealand. It started with a 200 metre long banner in Nelson and finished a week later with sea flooding blockades across seven cities on the “Day of Climax”. One rebel summarised the week as “one of exuberance, creativity, irreverence and solidarity with the international movement”.
UPDATE: XR Queenstown Lakes are taking action tomorrow morning at the Wanaka lakefront. The exact location https://extinctionrebellion.nz/2019/04/23/extinction-rebellion-queenstown-lakes-wanaka-action/will be announced at 7 am.
Below is a photo or video of each local action with a short summary and links by date. Find out what happened internationally here.
Friday 12 April
An emergency alert went out to all rebels in Aotearoa New Zealand. Read more.
Saturday 13 April
Nelson: Help make the longest banner to mark sea level rises
Nelson XR and local environmental groups created a 200m long banner to protest the council and local business leaders inaction on climate change. The banner marked the one metre sea level line in the city. Read more (Nelson Mail). Watch the video.
Christchurch: chalking about rebellion
Rebels decending on Christchurch to chalk the pavements.
Sunday 14 April
Nelson: Beep for the banner
Nelson rebel’s placed a banner across a busy motorway, teasingly close to a security camera.
Monday 15 April
Christchurch: Dawn sand art and mediation
Rebels from Ōtautahi met to sit on a sand drawing of the Earth, and watch the sunrise on the first day of the International Rebellion. Watch the video.
Palmerston North: Presentation to council
Extinction Rebellion Manawatu addressed the Palmerston North City Council. The group’s spokesperson shared our three demands and challenged council to put climate breakdown ‘front and centre’ in everything it considered. The council was challenged to be transparent and proactive in emissions reduction, monitoring, and reporting. Read more (Manawatu Standard). See more photos.
Wairarapa: Grand opening of the Climate Change Resource Centre
XR Wairarapa opened a pop-up climate change resource centre in Masterton for the week of rebellion.
Wellington: Expert panel: “A Gathering of Rebels”
The Wellington kick-off event brought representatives from major environmental groups together to speak about their Why (motivations), How (process) and What (impact) and how XRANZ could support them. Read more (press release).
Palmerston North : Pasty Paste ups for Papatuanuku (all week)
Posters were put along the main route to Palmerston North’s Agricultural hub (Fonterra, Ag Research, Massey University) with an agricultural theme. See more photos.
Invercargill: Chalking appears across the bottom of New Zealand
Extinction Rebellion messages appeared in Invercargill and Bluff in the middle of the night. Above is Pork Pie Lane, perhaps Invercargill’s most famous street, named after the cult movie Goodbye Pork Pie.
Tuesday 16 April
Auckland: Protest for climate action
XR Auckland disrupted traffic at the main intersection in central business district calling for stronger action on climate change and protecting our environment. The group formed an X and blocked cars. Read more (Te Waha Nui). Watch livestream. See also: NZ Herald
Wellington: Rebel posters
Capital city rebels put up posters and fliers all across the city. See photos.
Christchurch
XR Ōtautahi gave Environment Canterbury a direct performance review and pushed the CEO to put declaring a climate emergency on the agenda of their next meeting. Read more (Stuff). See also: videos: 1 & 2, photos, Insurance Mag, Newstalk ZB.
Wednesday 17 April
Wellington Sour Milk, feat Rebel Cows
On Wednesday, the International Day of Peasant’s Struggle, XR Wellington “peasants” herded their human cows on the lawns of Parliament to protest the impact of intensive dairy farming on our waterways. We had our top freshwater ecologist Dr Mike Joy speak and the protest ended with 28L of “sour milk” being poured down the steps of Parliament. Read and listen more (Radio NZ). Watch video. Photos. See also: Press release before and after, video, livestream, Scoop
Thursday 18 April
Nelson: Die-in and blockade of local council
XR Nelson held a peaceful occupation of the Nelson City Council. The action started with a die-in, but escalated to a blockade when the council didn’t accept the group’s demands. The Mayor came down to meet the rebels and organised a meeting to hear their demands. Watch the video. See photos. See also: livestream
Palmerston North: The silence Ends – a Chorus of Voices
Rebels broke into song during a busy dinner time in the food court at the local mall, the Plaza. The rebel choir held a banner and distributed flyers alerting diners to the climate crisis.
Friday 19 April
Dunedin: Underwater Dinner Party
XR Ōtepoti Dunedin activists staged a dinner party in the Anderson Bay inlet to highlight the lack of action in response to rising sea levels. Read more (ODT). Photos 1 & 2.
Saturday 20 April: Day of Climax
A rising tide and human wave of sea level and flooding blockades and marches were held across seven cities for the “National Day of Climax”. We were the lead story on two of the three main TV stations. Read more and watch the video. See also: Press release: National, Wellington, news before the event: Maori TV, Newshub, Radio NZ, Stuff, Dev Discourse and after: Stuff + video, Maori TV video, TVNZ web
Auckland: Easter Saturday climate action picnic and protest
Auckland activists blocked Tamaki Drive in Mission Bay for an hour, except to let ambulances and people with health emergencies through. The area saw widespread climate-related flooding in 2014. Read more and watch the video (Maori TV). See also: photos, video, live stream, Stuff + video, TVNZ web.
Thames (Hauraki): A rising tide for climate action
Thames protesters marched along the local flood line with a small pink boat with a sail painted with “This is a climate emergency”. People also “surfed” on the street, with skateboards connected to surf boards. The march weaved through the local market and blockaded streets. Watch the video. See photos. See also: livestream 1 & 2, video of the boat
Tauranga: A Rising Tide
Tauranga members performed at a local jazz festival and placed warning signs across the city identifying where sea levels would be under climate change. Read more and watch video. See photos. See also: Nz Herald
Wellington: “We are the rising tide”: A human wave for climate action
Wellington merpeople and sea creatures rose from the depths to block central city streets along the waterfront and demand climate justice. Read more (Stuff). Watch the video. More photos. See also: Press release.
Nelson: Guerilla pop-up gallery for climate action
Nelson artists celebrated the end of their week of rebellion with a pop-up guerilla art space.
Christchurch: Sure To Rise March – We are the Rising Tide
Christchurch protesters marched along the local flood line with a large yellow canoe painted with “Declare a climate emergency”. They blocked roads at traffic lights and pedestrians crossings. Watch the video.
Dunedin: Rising tide parade for climate action
Dunedin members took to the farmers market and CBD for an underwater street parade to highlight concerns around rising sea levels. Watch video. See more photos.
Sunday 21 April
The Newstalk ZB Sunday Panel discusses Extinction Rebellion. Listen here.
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Climate and eco action saves lives
Thank you for your support. Together, we’ve got this. Join us for our next actions.
Kind regards,
Simon Oosterman and Dr Sea,
Communication Working Group,
Extinction Rebellion Aotearoa New Zealand