Caritas Aotearoa NZ and the NZ Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) have expressed their disgust following an air strike on the Holy Family School in Gaza and have called again for the hostilities to end. The two Catholic organisations are united in their condemnation of the armed conflict. “End the hostilities!” say Caritas Aotearoa NZ’s Mena Read more
Caritas says Pacific nations’ voices should be heard at COP28 – the 2028 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP). The conference aims to agree on goals and negotiate agreements in the fight against climate change. The Caritas submission In preparation for this year’s event, COP28 in Dubai, Caritas Aotearoa-New Zealand made a Read more
Aotearoa New Zealand “punches above its weight” in sport, science and international affairs. We also excel at something less praiseworthy: producing excessive emissions which damage the environment. However, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is gloomy about the country’s response to climate change and in its latest ‘advocacy newsletter,’ and pricks at New Zealanders’ consciences. It points Read more
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand would like to see tangible action instead of promises to help offset climate change effects. Caritas Director Mena Antonio says she “is deeply concerned that carbon-cutting commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change still leave the world facing a 2.5C temperature rise. “And that’s if countries deliver on their promises,” Read more
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand says the Government’s call for a conditional moratorium on deep-sea mining in international waters is a welcome move. The moratorium will remain in place until strong environmental rules can be agreed and backed up by robust science. “It is welcome news before the International Seabed Authority meets again next week to Read more
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand director Mena Antonio has travelled to Port Moresby, PNG, to talk Climate Change. She is there with 25 Caritas delegates who have mostly flown in from around the South Pacific region for the meeting. As part of its contribution to the meeting, Caritas ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) is calling for Read more
Caritas Pakistan will benefit from a solidarity grant of NZ$10,000 from Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand. The money is to help with humanitarian relief efforts in Pakistan. At least three million people have been directly affected by devastating floods, which have left over a third of the country under water. More than 1,200 people are known Read more
New Zealand Catholic charity Caritas is glad to see New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan finally produced. Cross-party support for its long-term carbon-reduction budgets is great – but … “The Plan isn’t ambitious enough” says Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Engagement Manager Roger Ellis. “For the sake of the poor and the planet – we’d like Read more
Against a backdrop of high inflation, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is reminding the Government to address its responsibilities to tackle ongoing crises in housing, climate change and underlying inequality that worsen outcomes for the poor. It made the comments in its submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee about the Budget Policy Statement 2022. Inequality Read more
Mena Antonio, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand’s new Chief Executive’s impressive background ideally fits her for leading the Catholic social justice agency. She has 20-plus years working on and with boards and executive teams, combining leadership in strategy, risk management, legal and financial compliance and people-management here and in the UK. Of Samoan and Tokelauan descent, Read more