26th April 2023
This morning Restore Passenger Rail supporters hung a banner from a gantry above southbound traffic across SH1 just north of Johnsonville.
Restore Passenger Rail spokesperson Jonty Coulson, a Masters student in Biological Science said “108 years ago, people my age fought and died at Gallipoli for their country, their future and their families. Now our government is throwing that sacrifice away.”
Yesterday Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said “As well as honouring the past, Anzac Day provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our hopes for the future – for a world in which all people can share in a sense of peace, security and wellbeing.”
“I’m 22 years old. Hipkins wants me to reflect on my hopes for the future. My hope is that I get a future. The future my generation faces is one of cyclones, floods, food supply breakdown and starvation. Our government’s back-pedalling on the climate emergency is a conscious choice to destroy peace, security and wellbeing for young New Zealanders.
“If we don’t drastically reduce our emissions in the next two to three years, we could face the end of civilization.
“I’m a Biology Masters student. We’re losing the species I study before my career even begins. How can we hope for peace, security and wellbeing when the ecosystem around us crumbles, our food supplies fail and our rivers run dry?”
Anthony Field, 46, who has tied himself to the motorway gantry this morning, said: “I marched with 100,000 people in Copenhagen in 2009, at the largest meeting of world leaders since the end of WW2 – and they did nothing. Instead of empty words we need urgent action from our PM: Restore affordable nationwide passenger rail, make urban public transport free, and properly fund the Capital and Wairarapa Connections trains.
“My grandfather was a doctor who tended wounded soldiers. I am here for today’s youth. It is right to honour those who came before us but what value does PM Hipkins put on the kids of Aotearoa? Today’s decisions determine their future.”