15th December 2005

Wake Up and Smell What’s Cooking Don

Students took a message to Don Brash today – “Wake up and smell what’s cooking”. The group of about 20 Victoria University students from Gecko – the environmental action group gathered at Parliament to illustrate their disgust at National's campaign to scrap the carbon tax.

The group held banners and displayed a large papier mache earth, to creatively illustrate the global impacts of decades of uncontrolled use of Fossil fuels. It was also used to illustrate that Don Brash’s campaign is stuck in “prehistoric times”.

Gecko spokesman Aaron Packard suggested “Don and his cronies (including Peter Dunne and Winston Peters) need to pull their heads out of the sand and realise that a carbon tax is an effective way of holding those who pollute liable for the damage they do to the environment. Without it, we as the younger generation will have to subsidise New Zealand’s current polluting ways when the effects of climate change become even more extreme. The young people of New Zealand are not prepared to accept that; we want the government to continue their commitment to the Carbon Tax and the Kyoto protocol.”

“Brash needs to take note of the Tory’s (British conservative party) position who seem to have a solid grounding in the science of climate change. Former Tory leader Michael Howard has recently urged British Prime Minister Tony Blair to increase Britain’s commitment to mitigating climate change and even urging the U.S. to face up to reality. It is easy to see that one can still be a conservative whilst taking care of our environment.”

ENDS

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