The Election Roadshow for Climate, an initiative of Extinction Rebellion (XR) supported by Aotearoa Climate Emergency (ACE), is about to hit the road to put climate and ecological change to the fore this election.

The Roadshow starts concurrently from Bluff and Cape Reinga on Monday (September 14) and ends at Parliament in Wellington on Friday September 25. It will be promoting three election issues: the declaration of a national climate emergency; a Citizens’ Assembly on climate next year; and a green economic recovery post-Covid-19.

Candidates in each of the 18+ electorates to be visited by the Roadshow have been surveyed for their views on these issues, so voters can be informed about where their local candidates stand. The results will be prominently displayed at each stop.

In addition, local folk will be interviewed about how the climate and ecological crises are already affecting them, and the outlook for their region for the future. 

In Bluff, the South Island team will be speaking with Green party candidate Rochelle Francis and Labour MP Lizz Craig, while at Cape Reinga, the North Island crew will be interviewing Karyn Nikora-Kerr about how climate change is affecting the water table in Aupōuri, Northland.

“People are crying out for change but there is this disconnect between what people want and what politicians are willing to go out on a limb for,” says XR spokesperson Mathias Corwin. “There’s a surge of interest in our collective future and that’s part of what this roadshow is all about: making sure that people’s voices are heard and that politicians are listening. 

“Our strategy is to get politicians to pledge support for these crucial, planet-saving ideas. And then we encourage voters to elect as many of these politicians into parliament as we can so that they can enact these policies.”

Extinction Rebellion will be joined by the Aotearoa Climate Emergency (ACE) network on the road, and amongst other bodies, several unions have indicated support for a Citizens’ Assembly on climate. The Climate Change Commission has also indicated it would support such an Assembly to inform its work, if the government were to enable one.

“Over 1400 governance agencies across 28 different countries have declared a climate emergency,” says Mathias Corwin. “A Citizens’ Assembly on climate is already being implemented in France and the UK. A green recovery is favoured by 86% of New Zealanders. These aren’t radical ideas. These are necessary ideas.

“COVID-19 has shown us how quickly the political and economic landscape can change. The government has demonstrated it is capable of taking swift and decisive action, and we are now asking for an equally urgent response to the climate emergency.”