Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
I am a mother and educator and stand in this position today because of the deep concern I have for the direction our country is taking on many fronts. In my time I have seen our environment downgraded, our water bodies have become toxic and our rural regions and recreational outdoor areas have been contaminated by the widespread use of an eco toxin that is banned in many other countries. The declining level of scientific integrity by strict adherence to industry endorsed science by our government has led to widespread distrust in many parts of the country towards governing bodies and has left New Zealanders questioning how seriously our public health and safety is regarded by those who have been placed in positions of responsibility by the tax payer.
I have serious concerns for the lack of community, teacher and family consultation over our education system. The rapid roll out of the digital curriculum and modern learning environments, which have overnight shaped how new schools are designed and education is delivered, has been met with consternation by many parents and has led to a rise in home schooling in communities. Teachers and indeed many school leaders are afraid to voice their opinions or concerns over the rapidly changing education system and shape of schools.
Bullying and behavioural issues are rife in many schools. There needs to be a better approach employed by schools and school communities to tackle these serious problems and government guidance and support for these school communities. There are children arriving at high school with little ability to cope academically or socially. Children are being thrown in front of laptop screens to embark on ‘learning journeys’ in noisy open spaced classrooms with little hope of ever meeting the demands of the ‘projected future world’ that policy makers imagine these students will enter.
I question how a government can condemn our children to a system based on failed and/or experimental pedagogy at taxpayer’s expense. My desire to enter politics was driven by my experiences in education and in particular the dismay I felt seeing the level of power given to some questionable senior staff over the lives of students; staff who I heard making statements such as, “children don’t need to learn to read and write anymore because they have Siri and other AI to do it for them.” On the whole most educators in New Zealand are people with integrity and a desire to improve the lives of students. However, like any public servant, they themselves are not in positions where they can fully challenge or out rightly question the system that they work for. I want to stand up for our teachers and students and give them a voice. I believe that young children do not need computers or IPads as much as they need well-honed fine motor skills. They need to learn to hold a pencil, to master what people for thousands of years have mastered: the art of handwriting. They need to learn to read and spell at a high level and to think spatially and logically and develop their cerebral cortex and frontal lobe through tried and tested methods of teaching and learning. All teachers should have at least a basic understanding of educational psychology and human development before they step in front of a classroom.
Our children are not guinea pigs. I do not believe New Zealanders need or want to be led down a concrete path towards a future that is heavily in the favour of AI, insecure short term employment, deeply regulated and controlled smart cities and in turn a society that will ultimately be coerced into being dependent upon the state for the necessities of life.
The threats posed by AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the IoT (internet of things) places a huge onus on progressive parties such as ours to stand up and face facts. Without a doubt we do not want our people to live in a dystopian technocracy. As New Zealanders we have a deep connection to nature and the environment and have the honour of descending from generations of people who themselves were reasonably self-sufficient and community oriented. We need more people making real time connections than descending further into a virtual world. I believe that the mental health crisis we face in New Zealand is a reflection of the detachment from the more traditional, slower and cohesive society that we enjoyed in the past. We need to return to a way of living, being and doing that celebrates family, community and our heritage. After all family should always be the foundation of a healthy society.
I want to encourage mauri ora. We need to consider the benefits of embracing Mātauranga Māori and other more traditional ways of developing initiatives and policies around health and wellbeing, the environment and educating our young. Looking back at and utilizing things that have worked in the past is not regressive but rather sensible, practical, sustainable and healthy. We have a lot to learn from our past and our tipuna. Rongoa Maori practices have the promising potential to be a foundation for a NZ based wellness industry and could help effect positive change in our healthcare system and the way we perceive and treat illness and injury.
The issues that I want to concentrate on as a candidate for The Outdoors Party are:
- Improving our education system to reflect current research and return to using and developing pedagogy, practices and systems that are proven to work and are less stressful for staff and students. Improving work conditions for teachers and education staff, for the benefit of students and staff. Ensuring New Zealand trained teachers are given precedence for employment over foreign trained teachers. Improving the status of teachers and returning the profession to one that ensures long-term job security, to make it a worthwhile and well-regarded profession. Overhauling the education council’s approach to teacher registration and making it more egalitarian, practical and fair. The fact is many teachers, in particular female teachers, take time off to raise families. There are also many teachers that have to travel overseas to find work or pay off mortgages. It is obviously hard to acquire or pay a mortgage without a permanent job in New Zealand.
- Ensuring all schools and daycare centers and public libraries in New Zealand follow the precautionary principle, based on current worldwide scientific research and best practice, and use wired internet connections for all computers and devices and heavily reduce or stop using wireless microwave radiation (WiFi)
- Have limits on the use of screens in schools to reflect current health research that advocates for safer technological practices to ensure the physical and mental health and wellbeing of children and teenagers. Return to tried and true methods of paper, pen and textbooks in primary schools and in junior high school to increase positive academic and social outcomes and reduce the risk of eye diseases and digital dementia. Whilst I recognize the importance and ‘fun’ aspect of digital education I think it needs to be applied in a controlled and calculated manner to ensure student wellbeing and optimize learning experiences.
- Creating more ‘bush based’ or ‘nature based’ schools which teach children how to grow food, be self sufficient, resilient and appreciate and understand nature and the natural rhythms of life. These schools should not be only accessible to the wealthy. They should also be aimed at preschool to senior level. Also current schools should have the option to convert to a holistic nature based school model.
- Halting 5G (an untested and complex technology) and call for an independent non industry funded or affiliated with industry board to be appointed to review our RF/EMR standards and guidelines in NZ and adopt stricter standards in line with modern research and advice from world experts.
- Education and support programs for our rural regions to teach ecologically sound farming practices that will help encourage bio diversity. I want to see a flourishing hemp industry in Canterbury (and the rest of NZ) and investment in NZ grown sources of bio-fuel, building materials and medically useful plant based products. I believe NZ could be the world leader in biodegradable plant based plastics and plant based disposable material and eco-friendly fire and mold resistant building materials.
- Legalization of marijuana with a wellness based framework to support this measure.
- Legalized medicinal marijuana that is effective, affordable and accessible to NZ citizens and residents.
- I think farmers should be supported not dictated to! I want to help our rural communities flourish and grow. I want to encourage communities throughout NZ to celebrate the fact that agriculture is the backbone of New Zealand and crucial for our ability to feed and sustain ourselves.
- Water should not be privatized or given away. NZ water should be for our citizens and residents and tourists/visitors. How can our current Government endorse a carbon tax and yet allow millions of liters of our pristine water to be shipped off in plastic bottles around the world?
- Improve mental health outcomes for all ages. As a politician I want to advocate for programs and initiatives that work from the ground up and not just employ an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff approach to a growing social and health problem.
- I want to see an investment in youth programs that provide support and encouragement and skill development for our youth. I believe that cadet units, scouts, outdoors skill based programs and theatre and art/music based programs are the type of youth services that prevent social isolation and develop self-esteem and resilience. They should be widely accessible to our young people and funded appropriately in recognition of the life changing services they provide.
- Promote, support and celebrate the arts and music industry in NZ and build it up. Our collective identity as a nation rests on our ability to invest in and support our diverse and unique artists and cultural entrepreneurs. We need to stem the brain drain by respecting and supporting our talented pool of people.
- Promoting health and wellbeing and endorsing best practice for public health initiatives backed by evidence based research from around the world. Forming a board of non-industry funded scientists and health care and medical experts to advise and support our party on such matters.
- Grow food not lawns initiatives; workshops and consultants employed to teach residents how to convert sections of lawn to bee and bird friendly environments capable of producing organic food. Street competitions and initiatives to get communities into growing and promoting self-sustainability and organic gardens.
- Bee, bird and insect friendly green areas throughout suburban and urban areas
- Passenger rail from Rolleston to the city and Waimakariri to the city
- Invest in programs to help support our most vulnerable citizens: our very young, our elderly and our intellectually and physically challenged citizens. The sign of a healthy society is its ability to care for and protect the most vulnerable members.
- Create programs that promote social interaction across generations; decrease social isolation and elder abuse, promote wellness and support the transfer of knowledge across generations
- Support new parents and solo parents with proactive, practical and community-oriented programs and in home support networks.
- Wellness camps and clubs for teens and young adults who are suffering from either depression, the loss of a loved one, social anxiety and/or digital addictions.
- Wellness hubs for communities to access that include free or subsidized counseling, cost effective wellness therapies, ‘time out’ art based zones and access to support networks and wellbeing oriented social clubs.
- Promote safer travel initiatives. Safer walking/biking/scooting to school plans/programs to encourage fitness, strengthen communities and endorse good environmental practice. Walking school buses. Encourage new urban/suburban development to provide green car/traffic free passageways to playgrounds and schools (in urban design).
- More protection for animals, insects and birds. Reducing or banning the use of many insecticides in recognition of the impact they have on our insect populations. Education campaigns to create awareness of and respect for the role animals play in helping humans. Encourage the growth of native bird populations within urban and suburban landscapes. Provide support for schools to adopt ‘therapy animals in schools’ programs to promote wellbeing and assist social-emotional learning.
- Support local industries to grow. Promoting skill based industries on a local level. Encourage the growth of NZ made goods to supply a NZ market. Develop a partnership with schools and training providers to train/teach certain students to create or recreate (up cycle) locally sourced materials into sellable or reusable goods. Encourage and promote sustainable eco-friendly industries that in turn create an investment in local employment and local/national distribution.
- Eco friendly cost effective homes, sourced from mostly NZ materials that are healthy and can stand the test of time.
- Co-housing communities have been effective overseas and I believe we should be looking at such initiatives here which could solve not only housing affordability issues but also provide social support networks and the benefit of shared expertise, resources. I want to cut the red tape and reduce the hoop jumping so that people are not homeless or living in substandard and unhealthy housing.
Contact details. heidi.outdoorsparty@protonmail.com
