After 2 years of planning, The People’s Inquiry, Te Uiuinga a Ngā Tāngata online public Hearing occurred September 2 – 4. All sessions were booked- up in advance: showing the Inquiry met a genuine need for people to be heard and acknowledged for their concerns about the harms from poisons.

The oral testimonies were only a small proportion of the total submissions presented for the Panel of independent Commissioners to consider. The organising committee encourages anyone still wanting to submit their submissions to do so as soon as possible by registering on the website: www.peoplesinquiry2020.nz

Submitters included expertise and experiences from a wide range of individuals, local community groups, hapū, marae and national organisations. It is irrefutable that synthetic toxic chemicals have seriously impacted a broad demographic of New Zealand society.

Clusters of topics included: The impacts of horticultural spray drift, legacy PCP (Pentachlorophenol) and dioxin contamination from saw mills, aerial 1080, glyphosate used in farming and urban and rural weed management, industrial toxins impacting urban marae, including the neurotoxin methyl bromide from log exports and many more.

SWAP ( Sawmill Workers Against Poisons Inc) from Whakatane, described many timber treatment waste sites contaminated by dioxin and other lethal chemicals, which have caused inter-generational health problems. Remediation efforts draw on combinations of matauranga Maori strategies with western science. They have identified hundreds of similar chemically-contaminated sites throughout the country. Many negative physical and emotional health and well-being impacts, such as infertility, cancers and physical disabilities on individuals and whanau have now been documented, plus environmental impacts on water and ecosystems and wildlife.

Some testimonies involve impacts from a cocktail of toxins, not just one chemical. An alarming case is that of Whareroa Marae in Mt Maunganui, where an industrial zone surrounds the marae polluting air, soil and water, impacting the health of the residents and tamariki at the kura. Data from OIAs show records over time of regular and repeated high levels of toxic air pollution in the area proving the reality of these invisible poisons.

Fifteen years ago at the first Peoples Inquiry 2006 in West Auckland, the evidence on health impacts was dismissed by the then Minister of Biosecurity as “psychosomatic.” Since then, evidence of toxic chemicals causing harm to humans, wildlife and our environment has only increased. Thus, this type of diminishing of community-based evidence is no longer credible.

Submitters also provided evidence of system level weaknesses such as Governmental agency dysfunctions and legal regulation issues which have increasingly shut-out communities from decision-making and consultation regarding poisoning campaigns that impact their lives. In particular the Department of Conservation is “consulting” with crown-appointed Iwi Trust boards instead of local hapū with mana whenua over areas proposed to be aerially 1080’d and this is causing mamae /hurt.

The four Independent Commissioners questioned and engaged empathically with the people giving testimony. They have a significant task over the coming months studying all the submissions and producing a report with their findings and recommendations. The Commissioners have diverse and relevant expertise so their recommendations will carry considerable weight. The Committee anticipate that preliminary findings can be released in December 2021, with a full report in the Autumn.

Like many events, Covid-19 delayed the original Hearing event in 2020. Committee team members were pleased with the decision to hold the online Hearings; recent lockdowns due to Delta variant were unanticipated last year. Despite an internet outage on Day 2, the Zoom platform worked well allowing people from all over the country to participate with many more listening in and observing.

Feedback from the Hearing event so far has been extraordinary, with numerous positive and supportive comments received by the Committee over the weekend. Any donations to support the ongoing work of the People’s Inquiry are appreciated.

The organisers of the People’s Inquiry are optimistic that the success of the Hearings, the weight of evidence gathered, together with additional support offered, will provide strong reasons for Aotearoa to urgently shift the paradigm. Aotearoa New Zealand’s wilful blindness and normalisation of poisons needs to move away from use of chemicals, towards a more sustainable future which focuses on the health of our soils, water, ecosystems and all the people - especially our future generations.

We succeeded collectively with nuclear-free, now is the time for poison-free.

Good for our health and good for our economy!

To register for updates: contact@peoplesinquiry.2020.nz

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