Striking students want a voice on climate change

Jim Higgs, Teagan O'Connor, Eddie Thompson, and Xavier Made from Wintec. Photo / Tom Rowland

Several hundred Hamilton students gathered in Garden Place on Friday afternoon to strike in protest for action on climate change.

The students created signs, talked with politicians from both council, and parliament, before marching around Hamilton's CBD, shouting "What do we want? Climate justice, when do we want it? Now."

On the schools strike for climate website, it said "we are striking from school to tell our politicians to take our futures seriously and treat climate change for what it is — a crisis.

"Politicians can show us that they care by taking urgent action to move New Zealand beyond fossil fuels and get the job done of moving us to 100 per cent renewable energy for all."

It comes at a time when Hamilton mayor Andrew King has declined to sign a Local Government New Zealand petition to address climate change.

"This petition was directly addressed to the mayors, they did not ask for council's position, but that of the mayors," Mr King said.

"I totally accept that there is climate change. You would have to have a rock tied around your feet and be thrown into the water to not see it.

"But what I am saying is that we need financial parameters around anything we could sign."

He said that Hamilton City Council is already working to address climate change, with more bike lanes, bringing Lime scooters into the city and other future projects.