2nd August 2023
On Wednesday 2nd of August Restore Passenger Rail supporters will slow march along Ilam, Creyke and Clyde roads. During this time traffic around the University campus will be disrupted as the supporters march at a slow pace carrying several banners.
“Students and young people have no security. All we have are a cost of living and climate crisis that could define the rest of our lives. We are calling on the government to end the reckless reliance on fossil fuels and finally take meaningful action to support the youth of Aotearoa.” said spokesperson Jonty Coulson, a 22 year old masters student in Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury.
“We are sick of watching our autonomy stripped from us. We do not want to be out on the road, we would rather be attending our classes. But the climate crisis is the single biggest threat humanity will ever face – and it is our generation that will see the worst of this crisis. We ask our peers to put their studies on hold and join us in civil resistance until the government invests in our futures. What is the point finishing our degrees on a dead planet?”
Since Restore Passenger Rail supporters marched in Ōtautahi only one month ago, the world has seen record breaking temperatures. Spain, Turkey, Italy and Greece have joined Canada in experiencing catastrophic wildfires, whilst heat waves have claimed thousands of lives across the world . New Zealand food growers are suffering with the unseasonably warm winter. After the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, further disruptions to our food system drive prices beyond what lower income people – such as students – can afford.
“Our demands provide the government with easy first steps to take solid action on both the climate and cost-of-living crises. Our first demand is to restore affordable, reliable passenger rail services nationwide. Our second demand is for free, universally accessible public transport. They will start to reduce our transport emissions, and they will help make a better future for all of us,” said Coulson.