Friday, June 1, 2012

1080 poem - delivered to Dr Jan Wright, at Te Papa

The following, powerful poemhttp://youtu.be/AYZnQ0Mf90E - was read out to Dr Jan Wright (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment), by Redwood Reider, at a recent Te Papa meeting...

"Sometimes our public servants need to hear the truth. In rhyme.

Serendipitously I recently was invited to be on a panel alongside Dr Jan Wright, the New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, at Te Papa, the NZ national museum. We were asked to speak on our passions and thought leadership regarding Te Whenua - The Land. As PCE, Jan Wright issued a major report in 2011 enthusiastically endorsing the use of 1080 poison in NZ. 1080 is banned in many countries, severely restricted in most others, and classed as "Class 1A - extremely toxic" (the highest possible toxicity rating) by the World Health Organization. The risks to wildlife and to humans are massive. Yet the NZ government tosses it across our country from helicopters as though it were candy. I live in the community of Golden Bay and many of us are sick of this highly toxic substance being dumped throughout the forested mountains that surround our community (as well as in the streams that supply many people's drinking water). So I took this opportunity to present Dr Wright with a special poem I wrote for her to express my feelings on the subject....

This poem is my own (Redwood Reider). Nothing in my speech is to be construed to represent the views of Te Papa or of Fulbright New Zealand (organisers of the event). "

Filmed by Iron Lung Panda




www.1080science.co.nz

www.redwoodreider.org