While Dunedin student Perā Crowe is flattered — and agrees she is similar in that she too is a young climate activist with autism — she did not have anywhere near the same global prominence as Thunberg, she said.
"Well, we’re both pretty epic, but I’m not at the point where she is currently.
"I like to think that I’m getting somewhere though. We’re doing similar work."
The Australian-born 18-year-old has a long history of climate and human rights activism.
She has won multiple environmental awards from her community for picking up rubbish around her schools since she was 5, including a Sustainable Futures Australia Environmental Excellence Award in 2019, and campaigned for the land back movement and the protection of Aboriginal land.
Since coming to New Zealand three years ago, she has become an Amnesty International Ōtepoti youth member, represented New Zealand at the 2024 United Nations Youth conference, co-founded a Māori rights youth organisation called Te Tai-Tētēkura, worked with Climate Liberation Aotearoa and become the national co-ordinator for School Strike 4 Climate.
Perā is the organiser of today’s School Strike 4 Climate march through Dunedin, which starts in the Museum Reserve at noon, followed by a march up George St to the Octagon where there will be speeches and demonstrations.
She hopes up to 200 people will participate.
"It’ll be a nice chilled hikoi event.
"We want people to know that we haven’t gone away.
"With Covid-19, climate action has kind of died down, but the issue has never gone away.
"So we want to show the public that we’re ready to get back to holding the government to the policies that have been established and continue to hold them to account."
She said their demands to the government included fast-tracking the emissions reduction plan; banning more oil and gas exploration; making airlines and cruise companies foot the bill for their emissions; and a call to lower the voting age to 16.
She said now that she was at the helm of the organisation, there would be more frequent School Strike 4 Climate marches around Dunedin.
"I’m also thinking of other events like community cleanups around the university, and I’m also looking at organising a climate concert.
"Having a nice climate concert for teenagers to get together, help donate to a good cause, and giving them a fun time while having a theme that they can all relate to, is really important."
