SpeechDr LIZ CRAIG (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. In September 2019 the words school strike for climate" ended up scrawled across the wall next to my office. They were scrawled in chalk and so—as they've been protected from the elements—I've decided to leave them there as an impermanent reminder of the voices of young people in our region calling for urgent action on climate change. Since then the effects of climate change across our country have been all too clear. I think for me what I most vividly remember is the day of the Mataura floods and the day that the Mataura River broke its banks and it flooded the low-lying homes in Mataura. But it also threatened the aluminium dross that had been stored in the paper mill next to the river. I also remember the hospitality of the Murihiku Marae as they took people in who had been evacuated from their homes and also the way that the community turned out afterwards to help people recover. But I think with the issue of climate change projecting these events happening—they're much much more likely. I'm absolutely proud to be part of a Government that's taking urgent action on climate change. In my last term it was a real privilege to be on the Environment Committee when the zero carbon bill passed through the House. I think some of the submissions I remember most vividly were parents turning up and sitting in front of the committee with their children on their knees and saying "Look you need to go much much faster for the sake of their futures". I am proud of the way the Government's put in place a legislative framework that will ensure that we do our bit to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees. But what I'm also proud of is the fact that our Government's been investing to make sure that this actually happens. If I look at what's been happening down our way in the South what that's meant is extra funding for Southland schools to replace their coal-fired boilers with ones that run on renewable sources. I think you know you can imagine how our winters get incredibly cold down there and the fact that we need to be able to keep our children warm but we don't want to be expanding our carbon footprint. So to be able to run those schools' boilers on renewable sources is incredibly important. It's the same with the Government putting in place investments so that the Invercargill Prison can replace its coal-fired boiler with one that runs on wood pellets. That's going to save about 97.5 percent of their emissions. It also means that now that's the last coal-fired boiler for the Department of Corrections. A number of our local businesses and industries have also benefited from the Decarbonising Industry Fund. What that means is that they can put in place infrastructure that will be able to make sure that we can continue to grow as an economy down South but we won't be expanding our carbon footprint. It's also wonderful to hear the conversations among people thinking about buying electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrids and looking at the Clean Car Discount and also the way that the number of EV chargers has popped up around the South. So now people feel much more comfortable that they can tour the South in an electric vehicle and they'll know that they've got places where they can charge their car.So there's a lot that's been happening and there's a lot also that we need to continue with. But I think the other issue is that for a city like Invercargill which is only a couple of metres above sea level in many places it's really important that we look ahead to adaptation. And again it's really great to see the Government particularly investing in our region's flood protection. So as I drive out to the airport each week on the way to fly up here I've been watching the progress on the upgrade of the Stead Street stopbank. It's a huge stopbank that runs along in front of the airport and protects it from the estuary. Basically over time what we've seen is waves overtopping that stopbank at times with severe storm events. So the investment that's been put in there with a big sheet pile flood wall will protect that area not only from future sea-level rise but also from those severe storm events and the impact that has on the roads. I think our region's also benefited a lot from Jobs for Nature and the funding that's been put in place to make sure that we've got native tree nurseries around the place and a whole lot of other plantings which will ensure not only that we've got more trees but we're also protecting our biodiversity; we're actually cleaning our waterways. So there's a lot that's been happening and I'm really proud to be part of a Government that's taking climate change seriously and that we've got a plan that ensures that every sector across transport across waste across food production across building and construction and across manufacturing will be able to do its bit to see global temperature rises no further than 1.5 degrees. Thank you."