Kiwi kids respond to call for action

Thousands of Kiwi kids are picking up placards and protesting for their future.

New Zealand students will be swapping their school books for banners and megaphones in the name of climate change today.

It’s part of a Strike 4 Climate Change global movement that started with 16-year-old Greta Thunberg. In 2018, she protested outside Sweden’s Parliament in a bid to raise awareness of what she called ‘‘the biggest crisis in human history’’.

Her call has been heard by students from more than 50 countries, including Britain, the United States, Japan, Australia and now New Zealand.

Why a strike?

Thousands of teenagers in Belgium and London have already taken to the streets holding placards which read: ‘‘What do we want? Climate justice. When do we want it? Now’’ and ‘‘The ocean is rising and so are we’’. It’s a call to action and their message is clear; they’re not waiting for adults to save the world, they’re going to do it themselves.

Kiwi teenagers to march

In New Zealand, thousands of students are expected to protest.

Events in the major cities have already been organised with more being set up in provincial areas, as part of a movement known as Schools 4 Climate Action.

In Christchurch, Lucy Gray, 12, will be standing up for what she believes in.

She said teachers strike ‘‘all the time to get what they want and that’s just money’’.

‘‘We want our future; I think that should be allowed.’’

What people are saying

The strikes have polarised politicians, schools and public opinion around the globe.

In Britain, some said it was inspiring to see school kids making their voice heard. But others have say it’s ‘‘truancy’’ rather than a strike.

Although some New Zealand school heads have said they are supportive, others questioned what the strike would achieve.

Who supports the strike?

An open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern supporting the strike and calling for more government action on climate change has been signed by more than 1000 academics, teachers and researchers.

Amanda Thomas, a lecturer at Victoria University who helped organise the letter, said it was important for adults to support the cause, and the strike should be seen as more than students missing a day of school – it was giving them a ‘‘sense of agency in their own power’’.

Green Party co-leader James Shaw wrote in an opinion column for that he found it patronising for adults to tell young people how to protest.

However, he stopped short of explicitly encouraging or discouraging participation.

Will students be marked absent?

On advice from the Ministry of Education, schools have adopted a unified stance that students must have their parents’ permission to attend, and will be marked ‘‘unjustifiably absent’’ if they do not.