We presented the petition at the TDC!

On the 5th of April 2018, a group of SOS supporters travelled from Golden Bay to the Tasman District Council building in Richmond to present the petition. We were met by supporters from the Tasman and Nelson Districts. We had banners and a giant blue water puppet. This was the first time supporters from Golden Bay had rallied with supporters ‘over the (Takaka) hill.’ It was a very positive experience with samba drums and chanting. Inside the Council chambers, we sang the Waikoropupū waiata and presented the petition to the Mayor and Council. The rally was well covered by media, including nationwide television.

SOS’s next step involved taking part in the Te Waikoropupū Springs Water Conservation Order Tribunal hearing. As part of this focus, we launched a second online petition. The purpose of the petition was to inform the Tribunal of the widespread public support across Aotearoa for SOS’s submission. The online petition was a simplified version of the submission SOS made to the Tribunal. The second petition gathered 7,766 signatures before it was presented to the Tribunal.