What can we do, Kahurangi?
Kahurangi Carter has been a list MP since October 2023. Source: @kahurangicarter / Instagram.
Cosied up on a cold morning in Ilam’s LB&CO, Kahurangi Carter brings warmth and a sense of relief to the daunting conversation of what we can do to be more sustainable and ensure the future is bright for us young people.
The MP is ‘Loyal to the Soil’ and knows a thing or two about caring for Papatūānuku. She suggested ways to reframe how we can appreciate the planet we are fortunate to call our home.
Kahurangi Carter describes herself as an environmentalist, inspired by the cycle of nature. But Kahurangi, nicknamed “Kahu”, is also a mother, sister, actor, and Member of Parliament.
Carter is Green Party spokesperson for Arts, Culture, and Heritage; Children; Disability Issues; Zero Waste; Community and Voluntary Sector; Rainbow Communities; Christchurch Issues; and government response to the March 15 terrorist attacks.
Within these portfolios, Carter works to ensure that we have enough resources for future generations by minimising waste. She is focused on helping children have equal opportunities for bright futures, advocating for the rights of Rainbow people, and aiming to empower the disabled community.
Importantly, she wants to ensure that “Christchurch issues are heard loud and clear in Wellington.”
Originally from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Kahurangi has been in Ōtautahi for more than three years, living and raising her children in Christchurch’s city centre.
“I just love Christchurch so much. There’s so much to offer, it is the gateway to so much of Aotearoa’s natural taonga,” said Carter.
As a trained actor, Kahurangi was embraced by Ōtautahi’s small but thriving arts community. “There are things I learned as an actor that I’ve been able to transfer into this job,” she laughed.
“Being in the chamber and the house is like a big stage – sometimes you sit there, and you don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
Previously the National Manager of Para Kore, in that role Carter worked with more than 800 organisations throughout Aotearoa, helping to set up and design waste minimisation systems – for a world without waste from a Māori worldview.
Carter then moved to the Ministry for the Environment to help change systems that encourage society to be wasteful.
“As individuals, we get a lot put on us to be sustainable, but we’re living within a system that’s designed to send waste to the landfill,” said Carter.
Carter felt there was another level of system change she wanted to tackle: going into government.
“I wanted to be the change.”
Kahurangi Carter, left, with Canta’s Rosie Leishman. Source: @kahurangicarter / Instagram.
“One day my son came home from school… feeling quite distressed about this world that adults were leaving the next generation. I thought, ‘I can actually do this for my son, my children, their children, and every generation after’.”
Carter was inspired by Chlöe Swarbrick and Tamatha Paul. She saw how connected her Green Party colleagues were to their communities in working to make impactful changes for the people and the planet.
Carter’s dream is to create a world where everybody has a warm, safe, dry home, with access to amazing education and to live in harmony with nature.
She also emphasised a future “where students can actually afford to be students without having to choose between heating and eating, which we know is a reality!”
But with our diminishing environmental health and endless issues, how can we see a hopeful future?
Carter said, “If we want to make meaningful change for New Zealand and for our planet, we have to be the adults in the room… imagine how far forward our country would go if [we] worked in collaboration with each other rather than trying to tear each other down.”
She believes there is hope. “I’m an endless optimist. I always look at a silver lining or the sunny side of life.”
Carter is especially optimistic when she notes the “prolific” power of us students.
“You literally are the future of New Zealand. The way that you think and challenge the status quo… I'm inspired by young people.”
“You've got so much passion and vision… that’s what we need in parliament.”
So, what can we do, Kahu?
She said that first, we need to deepen our connection with nature.
Carter explained, “When you are connected to nature, it's hard to take for granted the things that nature provides us.”
Secondly, we should consider whakapapa.
Whakapapa is the story of something. So, by asking yourself what the whakapapa is of the clothes you wear, the food you eat, and the ideas you believe in, you can appreciate our planet and as a result, act more ethically.
This will help “leave a legacy of abundance for our next generations,” said Carter, “so they can stand on our mountains, breathe fresh air, swim in our moana, and drink water from our rivers.”
“We need everybody in our fight against climate change… we need solutions from all parts of society,” said Carter.
Her final tip is to put your “sustainability goggles on”.
Carter encouraged us to commit to incorporating sustainability in whatever subject we study, to really see some sustainable systemic shifts.
Finally, she thanked us.
“Why I'll always listen to your voices and be inspired by you is because when I talk to young people, the things you say stick with me… So thank you for always giving so much.”
So as it gets colder here in the 03, we may be choosing between heating and eating but we also should listen to Kahurangi Carter – to put our “sustainability goggles” on and recognise the power of our “bright young minds” to be more loyal to our soil.