New Zealand Celsias

This is a TelstraClear project

Our aim: At TelstraClear, connecting people and communities in a safe and protected way is our business. This combined with our aim to help create a positive environment for New Zealand’s children, youth and families led us to link up with the Stellar Trust to help them launch into our capital city, Wellington.

Our community partner: Stellar Trust.

The Stellar Trust Inc. was established in November 2008 by the Rotary Club of Auckland East Inc. to address the demand side of the effects on our society of methamphetamine – the drug “P”.

The main object of the Stellar Trust is to raise money from grants, donations, sponsorship and fundraising activities to fund programmes that will in time lead to a major reduction in the usage of P in New Zealand.

Our actions: TelstraClear sponsored and organised the Stellar Trust launch event in Wellington, held in the Grand Hall at Parliament in September 2010.

Notable attendees included Hon Peter Dunne (for the Prime Minister), Stellar Trust ambassador Paul Holmes, Chairman Burton Shipley, key Government Ministers and business leaders.

The aim of the Wellington launch event was to raise the profile of the Trust, to inform a key audience about the Trust’s work, reiterate the issue of P in New Zealand and connect with like-minded organisations and funders of the types of community initiatives the Stellar Trust implements.

The Stellar Trust also announced their first commissioned research into the impacts and awareness of P use in New Zealand. The research highlighted some surprising demographics on the spread of P with around one in seven (15%) New Zealanders knowing someone that regularly uses P and almost one in 10 New Zealanders (9%) having been offered the drug. The surprise was that around 35% of New Zealanders who earn more than $50,000 have been offered the drug.

To combat the spread of P, New Zealanders want measures that include more emphasis on drug education, tougher sentences for P related crimes and more resources for police to fight an illegal drug that New Zealanders rank only second to marijuana as readily accessible to all levels of society.

Our footprint: TelstraClear was able to assist the Stellar Trust to connect with many organisations and contacts, which helps them to continue building the schools education programme and the launch of further community-based schemes, like the Trust’s successful Hawkes Bay programme.

Our corporate citizenship contact: For more info, contact Nicola Libeau, Corporate Citizenship Manager via citizenship@telstraclear.co.nz.