Menéndez March RicardoRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker. Like many in this House I'd like to begin my contribution by acknowledging the lives lost the families and communities that have been displaced by climate change - induced extreme weather events that we have seen recently. It has been deeply distressing to see the extent of the damage and the challenge ahead of us.But what we have seen as well on the ground has been the communities that have rallied together to support one another—groups that have organically now been created as a result of the devastation and have tried to put whatever little resources they each have to support their neighbours and their communities. In my own neighbourhood I've seen the student volunteer army deploying people to help with the clean-up. I have seen marae and schools responding rapidly to the needs of our communities. I've also seen firsthand the families that have been affected. Like many others here in Parliament we've visited our neighbours and the people in our roads. I've seen migrant families that have struggled to access the support that they require and have required assistance to communicate in English the accessibility needs of our disabled communities who are often left in inaccessible shelter.But it is not enough as MPs just to visit these communities on the ground without acknowledging that what we are seeing are the inequalities that are laid bare as a result of this disaster—inequalities that in fact have been here for decades. And so we need to set the bar higher than simply accepting that poverty exists or that the research tells us that climate change is very much human induced.We need to confront these realities with action and to echo the Prime Minister's words business as usual won't work anymore. But this cannot just be a slogan; it needs to be matched with the action that researchers and communities have been calling for because climate change won't be impacting everyone equally. In fact the communities who often contribute the least to climate change are some of the ones who are going to be most impacted as a result of these weather events.The communities who struggle to make ends meet on a good sunny day will be struggling even more in the face of extreme weather events. The people who have been receiving income support who have been facing insecure housing—these are some of the communities who are paying the highest price despite contributing the least to these weather events. And this is why the response and the recovery needs to take a climate justice lens. It needs to include guaranteeing a livable income for all so that we build resilience in our communities. It needs to guarantee quality public housing so that people have a secure home to live in despite the weather events. It needs to ensure that our income support system treats people with dignity and I want to acknowledge the Deputy Prime Minister's words around having a welfare system that treats people with dignity. And that's all well and done to have a smiling face at the door of Work and Income but when benefit levels continue being below the poverty line that is not treating people with dignity. Until we lift people above the poverty line and ensure that the guaranteed life of dignity we are not treating people with the respect that they deserve.I want to acknowledge the many migrant workers as well who have been impacted by these weather events including Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers in the regions many who have faced precarious and exploitative conditions. If we're going to take a climate justice lens to recovery it also means ensuring that the conditions of these workers improves. This is no time for lengthy reviews; this is time for action. The changes needed to happen to the RSE scheme and the improvements we need to make for migrant workers in general who will be contributing to our recovery need to come now.Part of business as usual not continuing the same needs to require tackling and holding to account those that are responsible for climate change—the corporations that are ripping off our communities and who are polluting our environment. Taxing the wealthy few so that we can provide livable incomes and good public services for all is critical as part of this recovery. The Greens are committed to fighting for these things to guarantee a livable planet for all. Kia ora.