A Personal Message From Gary Taylor, CEO, Environmental Defence Society – Environmental Defence Society

The EDS Conference 2026, Beyond the election: A new mandate for our environment, arrives as New Zealand faces an election-year choice: protect the natural world that sustains us, or keep letting short-term growth politics tear it apart.

The Team at EDS has put a lot of effort over many years into making our annual environmental summits memorable and influential. This year’s event is arguably more important than most. It comes as our government prioritises economic growth over everything – and that’s not a durable approach. The economy is indeed a subset of the environment. If we mess it up, we will be heading into a dangerous place.

The EDS Conference 2026 comes at a defining moment

After decades of advocacy by our Team for our natural world, Beyond the election: a new mandate for our environment is a real opportunity for EDS and all New Zealanders to renew our collective commitment to look after our place – and bring our political leaders along with us. It’s not too late to turn things around, to reject shallow analysis, self-serving and harmful policy offerings and place care for our natural world and our people at the core of what we demand from our government.

Please join us and put some real heat on all the political parties looking for fresh mandates in 2026. The conference programme is replete with expert presentations that should inform, not least of which is the session on law-making and our constitution, which should be a real humdinger:

Is our Constitution at risk from bad environmental law?

Session 5: Current law-making practices: Is our Constitution at risk?
Wednesday 24 June 2026, 4pm
This session explores the implications of current law-making practices for the robustness of the country’s constitution and democracy. Are our rights to bring civil proceedings being trampled on? Does the Bill of Rights Act have teeth? What role does and should the Treaty play?

Chair: Dr James Every-Palmer KC, Barrister, Stout Street Chambers

Law-making practices and the constitution
Hon Christopher Finlayson KC, Barrister and former Attorney-General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

Aotearoa New Zealand’s indigenous constitution
Rhianna Morar, Associate, Kahui Legal and Paranihia Walker, Special Counsel, Kahui Legal

Followed by a panel discussion