“The way I see things is that we derive our health from the planet – we share the same ecosystem as the planet. People and nature are not separate things; people and animals are not separate things. So there's no way to look after human health without looking after environmental health as well, because they're one and the same.

And if we were to take an indigenous perspective to this, within te ao Māori, but it's quite synonymous with indigenous communities all around the world, we derive our health from the planet. So therefore, when the planet hurts, we as people hurt as well. And that manifests in a lot of different ways, right? So if we were to talk purely culturally, climate change is just an ongoing process of colonisation, and so it severs people from the land, which means it severs them from people, knowledge systems, kai, language, all these different things.

I suppose just the way that we're treating it now is just a reflection of our own health as well. We as people are hurting at the moment, and I don't think it's a coincidence that the planet is also primarily feeling that hurt and exploitation as well, and it just reflects on us too. But if it does well, we do well. You wouldn't treat your friends or your family the way that we have treated the planet for so, so long.”

Neighbour Zine x Generation Zero: A series of conversations with friends