“As health practitioners, we know that the health of our environment is fundamental to human wellbeing” says Dr. Steve Grimson, executive member of OraTaiao. “That’s why we’ve issued medical certificates for people of all ages, across Aotearoa, to join this Friday’s call to action”.

Dr. Grimson adds that the Mana Taiohi Whai Wāhitanga principle of giving young people space to participate and use their voices is essential for youth wellbeing. Nutritious school lunches are also vital for authentic learning and participation.

OraTaiao strongly supports School Strike 4 Climate Aotearoa’s key demands: repeal the Fast-Track Approvals Bill and protect Māori lands from further exploitation.

Among the projects fast-tracked by the Bill are mining and major roading projects, which will destroy ecosystems and accelerate climate destabilisation. The Bill’s direct and indirect threats to human, non-human, and climate health are serious, far-reaching, and highly inequitable.

Māori lands and rights are also threatened by the twin Treaty Principles and Regulatory Standards Bills.

“Legislation that erodes Indigenous rights and ecological protection go hand-in-hand and their harms to health will be immense,” says Summer Wright, OraTaiao’s co-convenor.

OraTaiao calls on school trustees, teachers, parents, caregivers, whānau, and communities everywhere and from every workplace to join Aotearoa’s students and make this Friday’s Global Climate Strike our country’s biggest-ever call for climate action.

OraTaiao’s Medical Certificate supporting all those standing together for the wellbeing of people and the planet on 11 April 2025 is here: https://assets.nationbuilder.com/orataiao/pages/1727/attachments/original/1744175649/MEDICAL_CERTIFICATE_2025_ss4c.pdf?1744175649

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