Tuiono TeanauTEANAU TUIONO (Green): Like the seas rising around the Pacific I also rise to take this call. It's a reminder for me that Pasifika peoples are on the front lines of climate change. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of our young people who are also rising and mobilising again this Friday for the School Strike 4 Climate. It is they that have been holding our generation to account for kicking the can down the road and also for some of our generation denying the very existence of the climate can.Pacific Island countries have contributed almost nothing to the causes of the climate crisis yet are being hit first and hardest by its impacts. The severe injustice of the climate crisis in the Pacific has been matched only by the determination of Pacific leaders and peoples to lead the world to a more just and sustainable future. This was front of mind for me when on the early morning of the autumn equinox I sat on the Vaka Haunui: a traditional voyaging waka to take part in a climate talanoa organised by Pacific Vision Aotearoa with the inasi kava club on the water of the Auckland harbour. It is always a dawn ceremony; it's never a morning ceremony or a lunchtime ceremony. So when we gathered in the dark we could see the golden rays stream across the water and I could feel the mauri on the water. We talked about climate justice through our connected Pacific ancestral ways: the sharing of kava vaka sailing and voyaging.I reflected on the vaka itself being a symbol to help us remember that before there were any borders and territorial lines that carved up the Pacific by colonial powers it was vaka that helped keep and maintain our connections throughout all of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. It was on vaka that our Pacific ancestors voyaged back and forth across the vast Pacific Ocean unhindered by the so-called borders and territorial lines as they visited different islands along with coming here to Aotearoa. Their skill was based on knowledge of the stars sailing directions and reading the waves and clouds to determine currents and to predict weather. They were deeply imbedded into their environment. I like to think that we the descendants of those early navigators can draw on their prowess and commitment as we navigate the myriad of issues relating to climate change.We were fortunate to be joined by the Minister for Pacific Peoples the Hon Aupito William Sio who among his many significant comments said something that actually sat with me for a few days: that while we are rolling out the vaccine for COVID-19 and supporting Pacific countries to do so unfortunately there is no vaccine for climate change—if it was only that simple.Yes we are a country that must account for its emissions but we need to think about that in the context of the region that we live in. We live in the Pacific—not Europe not the Americas—the place on the planet that is the most vulnerable to climate inaction. Yes we need to commit to climate action in Aotearoa to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees but we also need to ensure our immigration policy is welcoming to Pacific peoples becoming displaced by climate change.Climate action means we all take a part. He waka eke noa: a waka that we are all on board but it also means that when we are on that waka it's important that we are all paddling and even more importantly paddling in the same direction. I also note that He Waka Eke Noa is also the name of the Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership. We have to get to a point where we have to stop giving out hallway passes. Almost half of our emissions come from agriculture. For decades farms were treated like factories prioritising quantity over quality and popping out pollution. Many Governments told farmers Make more milk powder. Don't worry about the effects on the environment." The tools farmers need to deal with changes in the climate and changes in their market were taken from them. We have to change and many farmers know it. We have eight harvest cycles left before it's too late and we are hit by our climate change tipping point—this is what the scientists are telling us: eight harvests to change the way we grow our food.Many farmers are already changing. It is time for the Government to support them to change. We can work with our rural communities to transform our agriculture and horticultural sectors from being one of the biggest causes of climate change into being one of the biggest solutions to climate change. First we have to stop using nitrogen fertilisers. They pollute our water they create emissions and they enable more cows in places where cows have no good reason to be. What dirty coal is to electricity nitrogen fertilisers are to farming. We can live without it. There are alternatives and we need to use them for the health of our land and air and the health of our ocean.As a reminder of all this I am left with the words of Reverend Sumalie who joined us that day on the vaka and he spoke about his home island of Tuvalu. And he reminded us that if we save Tuvalu we save the world. Let's save Tuvalu."