New Zealand: Politics
Edict by press release a ‘misunderstanding’
19 Mar 2024
A rather bumbling attempt to govern by press release edict has resulted in a backdown which leaves many councils confused about how they should proceed when it comes to aspects of environmental and planning law.
Climate crisis a factor in rising council rates
15 Mar 2024
Homeowners are facing average rates rises of 15%, with climate change partly to blame.
Swarbrick elected new Green Party co-leader
11 Mar 2024
The Green Party has elected Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick as co-leader alongside Marama Davidson, as James Shaw resigns.
Controversial new fast-track bill projects still not public
8 Mar 2024
By Vernon Small | The government says its new Fast Track Approvals Bill will clear the way for faster development of sustainable energy projects, such as windfarms.
Govt still committed to 'no significant changes' to ETS
7 Mar 2024
Despite warnings from the Climate Change Commission, Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government remains committed to no significant changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
One onshore petroleum exploration permit granted through tender process
6 Mar 2024
The government has granted an onshore petroleum exploration permit to Greymouth Gas Turangi.
Canned govt fund delivered emissions reductions at half current carbon price
5 Mar 2024
By Vernon Small | The effective price the government paid for carbon emissions through the GIDI fund was about half – or less – than the current NZ unit spot price of $66.05.
Govt at risk of litigation if emissions reduction plan doesn’t cut it
4 Mar 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government might find itself in court if it doesn’t come up with a credible plan this year to meet its emissions budget, according to legal experts.
Scrapping Māori Health Authority will worsen climate impacts on community - OraTaiao
28 Feb 2024
OraTaiao, the NZ Climate and Health Council, says the government’s decision to scrap Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, will undermine the Māori community’s ability to adapt to climate change.
Environmental Defence Society says "radical anti-environment government" could harm NZ's reputation
27 Feb 2024
The Environmental Defence Society says the government’s environmental policies could cause environmental harm as well as threaten New Zealand’s international reputation.
Jones looks to boost oil and gas with guarantees
7 Feb 2024
Resources minister Shane Jones’ enthusiastic ‘boosterism’ for his portfolio has manifested itself again with him musing on the possibility of government guarantees for the oil and gas sector to restore investor confidence.
EU free trade agreement with “ambitious” climate commitments a step closer
2 Feb 2024
New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, which carries sanctions if one of the parties doesn’t meet climate commitments, is a step closer. However the country’s climate targets seem to be moving further out of reach.
Green co-leader resigns - stays on to support bill drafted by climate lawyers
31 Jan 2024
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party’s James Shaw has resigned as co-leader, but is staying on in Parliament to support a private member’s bill to recognise the right to a sustainable environment in the Bill of Rights.
Bill passed to repeal Clean Car Discount
15 Dec 2023
The Government has passed legislation repealing the Clean Car Discount, which it nicknamed the “Ute tax,” for all vehicles registered after 31 December 2023.
Govt must address climate crisis: Lawyers
14 Dec 2023
Activist lawyers have put the new government on notice that they could be facing legal repercussions if they fail to take adequate action to meet the country’s climate targets.
Environmental Defence Society calls on climate minister to revisit ETS review
12 Dec 2023
The Environmental Defence Society is calling on the government to revisit its decision to stop the Emissions Trading Scheme review.
Greens launch petition to keep oil and gas ban
28 Nov 2023
The Green Party has launched a petition to stop the incoming government repealing the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration.
New govt cans ETS review, climate and environment ministers outside cabinet
27 Nov 2023
By Liz Kivi | The new National-led coalition government has dumped the current review of the Emissions Trading Scheme, and appointed climate and environment ministers outside cabinet.
Energy and resources portfolio split
27 Nov 2023
The former energy and resources portfolio has been split into two by the new government.
Auditor-general to assess councils climate action
16 Nov 2023
How four councils are taking action on climate change impacts is under scrutiny from the auditor-general.
Incoming govt climate policy "troubling" - Environmental Defence Society
13 Nov 2023
The Environmental Defence Society says the prognosis for the incoming government to tackle major environmental issues is troubling.
Bell Gully on hazard risk management
10 Nov 2023
As New Zealanders face the rising environmental, social and economic costs of severe weather events like Cyclone Gabrielle, a work programme to improve natural hazard risk management under the Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA) has begun.
Window to avoid 1.5°C of warming will close before 2030 if emissions are not reduced
31 Oct 2023
Without rapid carbon dioxide emission reductions, the world has a 50% chance of locking in 1.5°C of warming before 2030, according to a study led by Imperial College London researchers.
Guides to the ‘climate election’
2 Oct 2023
This might not be the ‘climate election’ many were calling for, but plenty of advocates are trying to steer voters towards thinking about the climate when they decide which boxes to tick on polling day.
Labour announces “climate manifesto”
26 Sep 2023
The Labour Party has released a “climate manifesto” promising to set separate targets for gross emissions and carbon removals, develop a voluntary carbon market framework, and limit exotic afforestation, if it wins the election next month.
Climate trumped by other election concerns in latest poll
21 Sep 2023
Multiple organisations have called for October’s general election to be a 'climate election', however climate is no longer one of the top five concerns for New Zealanders.
NZ must improve how it puts together plans for emissions reductions: Environment Commissioner
8 Sep 2023
Make it coherent and have the Prime Minister take the lead: Those are two pieces of advice the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment wants the incoming government to take to heart when formulating plans to cut emissions.
National’s climate “dividend” isn’t really a dividend - and could increase emissions
31 Aug 2023
By Liz Kivi | Yesterday the National Party announced a “climate dividend” amid much fanfare as part of its $14.6 billion package of tax cuts.
National announces climate dividend
30 Aug 2023
The National Party has announced a climate dividend that would use funding from the Emissions Trading Scheme as part of a package of tax cuts aimed to support New Zealand’s “squeezed middle.”
Climate issues and the 2023 Election: Is Aotearoa heading in a sustainable direction?
30 Aug 2023
By Ralph Chapman | COMMENT: In the glare of now daily global climate disasters, climate change is taking a higher profile as an election issue in Aotearoa.
Consultation on exotic hardwoods and carbon tables in the ETS
30 Aug 2023
The Ministry for Primary Industries is consulting on recognising space-plantings and exotic hardwoods in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.
Green Party announces climate adaptation fund
28 Aug 2023
The Green Party has announced a $750 million fund for councils to put in place nature-based solutions, aiming to cut emissions and protect communities from climate change impacts.
Law change means govt no longer has to promote mining on Crown land
24 Aug 2023
A law change means the government is no longer required to actively “promote” prospecting, exploration, and mining of minerals such as fossil fuels.
Departing National MP says Climate Change Commission must "tell truth to power"
24 Aug 2023
National MP and former party leader Todd Muller used his valedictory speech in Parliament to call for stronger action on climate change.
RMA comes to an end - but for how long?
22 Aug 2023
Thirty years of the Resource Management Act has come to and with the passage of two reform bills, but how long they will last and what they could be replaced with will depend on the outcome of the election.
Govt delays agricultural emissions reporting and pricing
21 Aug 2023
The government has announced farm-level emissions reporting won’t start until the end of 2024, and emissions pricing won’t start until a year later.
Updated bill “big win” for climate
17 Aug 2023
Activists are claiming a climate bill update as a significant win against big polluters - with 800,000 tonnes of subsidised carbon dioxide pollution now cut from free allocations.
National suggests a different path for RMA reform
17 Aug 2023
A senior National MP has suggested that if the Government had sent the resource management law reform bills back to select committee, it may have been possible to get cross-party agreement with tweaks.
Volcanic eruption may be boosting global heat wave
17 Aug 2023
A climate science debate is simmering over how much of 2023's record warmth is due to human-caused factors, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels, and the role of other influences.
Shaw calls for inquiry and cross-party consensus on community-led retreat
16 Aug 2023
Climate Change minister James Shaw has called for a select committee inquiry into community-led retreat and adaptation funding in the face of climate-fuelled disasters.
Canterbury regional council chair slams govt inaction on climate adaptation
15 Aug 2023
Ecan chair Peter Scott says central government needs to do more to protect Canterbury from “real and ongoing risks” exacerbated by the climate crisis.
Green Party announces new policy to slash energy bills and carbon emissions
14 Aug 2023
The Green Party has announced a new policy it says will save households up to $1,200 on energy bills every year and slash carbon emissions.
Carbon tariffs - what are the implications for NZ?
11 Aug 2023
A senior public sector consultant has suggested that New Zealand might want to consider being a fast follower of the European Union’s moves to implement a carbon tariff.
Govt launches consultation on five areas of energy transition policy
10 Aug 2023
The Government has launched consultation on New Zealand's transition towards a low emissions economy, with five streams of energy policy out for feedback.
Sustainable tourism plan "short on detail": Environment commissioner
8 Aug 2023
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has criticised the government’s draft plan for sustainable tourism, saying it is short on detail, particularly around plans for decarbonisation.
NZ First would reverse ‘treasonous’ refinery closure
8 Aug 2023
New Zealand First would reopen the refinery at Marsden Point as the closure was “economic treason”, Party leader Winston Peters said.
Māori forestry lobby welcomes Nat’s commitment to leave ETS unchanged
7 Aug 2023
Māori forestry group Te Taumata has welcomed a National Party statement that they would not make major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme if voted into government at the upcoming election.
National’s transport policy slammed for overlooking carbon emissions
1 Aug 2023
Environmentalists have slammed National’s plan to spend almost $25 billion over 10 years building roads across the country, including four lanes all the way from Whangārei to Tauranga.
Bill to amend forestry provisions of Climate Change Response Act
1 Aug 2023
The government has introduced a “tidy-up bill” to Parliament, to change the Climate Change Response Act 2002 administered by the Ministry for the Environment.
Labour votes down bill to stop new mines on conservation land
27 Jul 2023
The Government has voted down a Green Party’s members’ bill to stop new mining on conservation land.
Govt redirects energy innovation funding to solar on schools
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | Schools will save money, have greater energy security, and reduce carbon emissions through a $30 million Government initiative to put solar panels on up to 500 schools across New Zealand, say Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Education Minister Erica Stanford.
Greens condemn planned coal mine next to protected wetland
4 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party says a new plan for a coal mine and fertiliser plant next to an internationally significant wetland is “ecological vandalism and climate denial.”
Carbon removal plans falling billions of tonnes short, experts warn
Today 12:15pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand needs to look beyond forestry and rapidly expand other forms of carbon removal to help meet global climate goals, according to a major international report.
Rotorua extends diesel bus contract after NZTA declines extra funding
25 May 2026
By Mathew Nash, Local Democracy Reporter | Rotorua is stuck with its diesel-powered public buses after a funding snag played a part in setting back plans for zero-emission buses by years.
Govt ramps up war on wilding pines with $79m boost
25 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is ramping up efforts to contain the spread of wilding pines with a $79 million funding boost aimed at protecting farmland, biodiversity hotspots, tourism landscapes and water catchments across New Zealand.
Govt’s LNG plan puts trade deals at risk, lawyers warn
26 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action are warning that the government’s plans for an LNG import terminal and to subsidise gas fields are in breach of New Zealand’s free trade agreements with the UK and the EU.
