Whakatane's Joe Harawira has been fighting for two decades.
Not with boxing gloves nor with an academic degree - Mr Harawira has been fighting from knowledge gained during the 29 years he worked in New Zealand's timber industry.
Mr Harawira's long, hard fight has been made into a documentary calledThe Green Chain, which screens on Maori Television this Saturday at 8.30pm.
Since 1988 when Mr Harawira and other members formed SWAP (Sawmill Workers Against Poisons), he has carried out research into the effects of exposure to pentachlorophenol (PCP), a deadly chemical used in New Zealand timber processing for years.
SWAP was a group that asked questions about why sawmill workers were getting sick and why so many were dying and also how much of the land had been contaminated. "My colleagues were suffering the same symptoms, fatigue and weakness, depression, headaches, shortness of breath and sore eyes and nose," Mr Harawira said. Long-term effects included high levels of cancer, respiratory problems and heart and liver disease.
Mr Harawira's own health dived in 1982 to 1983 and he eventually took redundancy from a timber mill, almost three decades after his involvement with the industry began.
In 1995 Mr Harawira and SWAP started looking at the cause of their and their families health issues and the journey began in earnest.
"It was never about compensation," Mr Harawira said, "but about finding out what can be done to make it better."
Mr Harawira's campaigning has also resulted in the Bay of Plenty SWAP Facilitation Service in Whakatane. This service is for the ex-sawmill workers that were exposed to PCP.
A final roadshow will start in two to three weeks to gather new registrations.
