Repealing Aoteraoa New Zealand’s ground-breaking smoke free legislation is a huge step back for schools and students, says Chris Abercrombie, PPTA Te Wehengarua acting president.
“We wholeheartedly support the protest being held today against the repeal of this law. Actions like these take Aotearoa New Zealand from being a world leader to a lemming.
“The impacts of smoking and vaping in schools are persistent and require significant resources to address. The promise of a smokefree generation was a tangible example of social and health issues being sorted at a community level rather than being left for schools to try and manage. Repealing the legislation is a regressive step for schools and students.
“Scrapping this legislation, which was going to save up to 5000 lives each year, shows clearly that a healthy future for all New Zealanders is not a priority for this government.
Doing away with this ground-breaking law, as a short term fix to fund tax cuts that will not make a difference and that Aotearoa New Zealand can simply not afford, is utterly disgraceful.”