Luxon protects big polluters from climate law
Surprise, surprise – a conspiracy by big polluters to protect them from climate law…
‘A co-ordinated campaign of secret lobbying’ – climate activist
Iwi leader and climate activist Mike Smith is accusing the Government of a “co-ordinated campaign of secret lobbying, political interference and corporate influence at the highest levels of power”.
He says the Government’s changes to climate law to prevent lawsuits has “exposed” what appears to be a “deliberate effort” to conceal communications between the Prime Minister’s office and the companies Smith is taking to court.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister says his office was made aware of these meetings and briefing notes through the media, “and have no record of either on file”.
Official documents released Sunday, and seen by RNZ, reveal a briefing document provided to the Prime Minister’s office regarding Smith’s case against Fonterra and other major emitters.
Z Energy confirmed to RNZ it had provided a document to government in 2024 and Fonterra confirmed it had done the same with a hard copy.
Smith explained the defendants in his case had been ordered to release documents relating to their lobbying efforts by the end of March 2026, but the briefing note was only released this month, through the discovery process in the High Court.
The documents also showed the information was not disclosed by the Prime Minister’s office, when requested as part of a separate Official Information Act request by an environmental group
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister told RNZ there was no record of the briefing note on file and stakeholders on all sides of issues requested to meet with staff, but Cabinet “makes its own decisions”.
The spokesperson said Cabinet made a decision on this issue to ensure businesses had legal clarity and certainty.
RNZ
…Mike Smith is a legend and his fight against the interests of big polluters co-opting our political end legal landscape is righteous!
The Government’s move to shield corporate polluters like Fonterra from climate lawsuits isn’t just anti-democratic — it’s a declaration that the profits of big emitters matter more than the homes, livelihoods and futures destroyed by climate collapse. As floods, droughts and infrastructure failures intensify across New Zealand, the attempt to shut down legal accountability for climate pollution looks less like governance and more like corporate protection racketeering.
As the extreme wet events following extreme droughts scar the land permanently and disrupt agricultural cycles around the world, let’s not forget who is responsible for this, the big polluters!
That this Government of Climate Criminals is changing the rules to stop the people suing environmental vandals like Fonterra is an obscenity…
Shocking abuse of power – Greenpeace slams Govt’s climate law change.
The Government has announced plans to pass a law retrospectively preventing companies from being sued for the damage that their climate pollution is causing New Zealanders. Greenpeace Aotearoa is slamming the announcement as a ‘shocking abuse of executive power to help corporate polluters’.
The proposed law change would prevent current cases from being heard, including the landmark case due to be heard next year brought by iwi leader Mike Smith, who is suing Fonterra and six of New Zealand’s other largest polluters for their contribution to climate change.
Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop says, “This Government is trying to protect big polluting businesses from paying for the climate damage they have caused, while ordinary New Zealanders’ lives and livelihoods are threatened by repeated climate disasters.”
“Big polluters like Fonterra and the oil and gas industry are profiting from the climate crisis, and it is everyday people who are paying the price, from skyrocketing insurance premiums to the enormous cost of rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure after climate storms.”
Costly floods and storms are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of rising levels of climate pollution. This year the country has already had to declare more extreme weather related states of emergency than for the entirety of 2025.
Toop says that preventing the courts from considering legitimate claims against major emitters would have a chilling effect on democracy in New Zealand, and set a dangerous precedent.
“This is a shocking abuse of executive power. The courts exist to hold powerful interests to account and protect the public interest. Ministers should not be rewriting the law to shut down cases they don’t like.”
In 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Smith’s case could proceed to trial, finding that major emitters may be held legally responsible for the harm caused by their emissions.
“It is a remarkable act of hypocrisy that a Government that says it opposes retrospective law and says it wants to protect property rights is using retrospective law to block ordinary people from suing corporations for the property damage they have caused,” says Toop.
“Mike Smith’s case is a groundbreaking effort to hold some of New Zealand’s biggest polluters accountable for the harm they are causing. But this Government is stepping in to protect corporate profits at the expense of people, nature and future generations.
“We all want our kids and grandkids to have a safe future free from climate disruption. People will continue to stand up and fight for that, no matter what this Coalition Government does.”
Greenpeace is calling on the Government to abandon the proposed amendment bill and allow the courts to hear Mike Smith’s case.
Greenpeace
So why is the Government protecting polluters?
…Just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions that are causing the climate crisis, and big oil knew in the 1990’s that they were creating catastrophic climate change.
The comparisons between how Big Tobacco lied and manipulated the science linking smoking to cancer is as audacious as Big Oil has lied and manipulated the science linking CO2 to global warming.
We should be collectively suing Big Pollution now and using the payouts to fund the urgent Green transition away from fossil fuels.
It is outrageous that our Government has not led this fight and instead capitulated to the polluters rather than challenge them. Indigenous people have been at the forefront of the climate crisis battle and have been the frontline between corporate polluting greed and sustainable habitats.
You can see why the State illegally spied on Māori Iwi fighting big oil in this country.
