Year 10 student Cyprus-Joe Selwyn Golding was surprised to find that when he got home from school on Monday, he’d received a Parliamentary letter from Erica Stanford.

The Minister of Immigration wrote to thank Cyprus for his handwritten letter raising his concerns about the impacts of sea-level rise on the people of Tuvalu and Kiribati. The 14-year-old student called on the government to establish a human rights-based humanitarian visa to allow Pacific people most impacted by climate change to move to Aotearoa.

“New Zealand is accountable for climate change and the rise of sea levels,” he wrote. “The reason for their islands sinking is also because of us, with all the greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. I think they still deserve a chance to keep living longer. They have their own way of living, but I know for sure they’ll come here and work.”

Ms Stanford responded that the government shares his concerns. She wrote their priority has been to support climate adaptation measures to allow people in the Pacific to continue living in their countries, where strong ties to land, culture and family can be maintained.

“I appreciate you all sharing your thoughts and opinions with me following your studies on this important topic,” Ms Stanford wrote.

Cyprus’s letter was written as part of a Year 10 Social Studies Unit framed on the 2026 Amnesty International Freedom Challenge ‘Navigating Injustice’. Amnesty International challenged young people in New Zealand to take steps to increase education and government actions to mitigate the negative impacts of sea level rise in Kiribati and Tuvalu. 

Around 200 students from Year 10 Social Studies classes sent letters to current government Ministers Winston Peters, Erica Stanford, Paul Goldsmith and Simon Watts. The letters were the culmination of learning across two units on environmental sustainability, human rights and social justice designed by Te Ao Tangata teacher Lucy Gardyne.

Written by Year 10 Social Studies teacher Jennifer Dann