Media round-up
25 Jul 2025
In our round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Dairy conversions surge; Gore is hit with a drinking water crisis; meanwhile farming lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sector.
Gore's brown trout statue defaced overnight amid drinking water crisis
RNZ
A stoush has erupted over a Greenpeace stunt involving Gore's brown trout statue with Federated Farmers calling it "vandalism" and Greenpeace labelling them as "science deniers".
Who Benefits: The power of the farm lobby
by David Williams, Newsroom
This first story in Newsroom’s Who Benefits series is a deep dive into proposed changes to freshwater policy. Agricultural lobby groups pushed for further changes, and then ministers intervened.
Groundswell and the new scaremongering about climate action
By Simon Wilson, NZ Herald
Farm lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are both up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sectors. In effect, to blow the whistle on greenwashing.
Electric motorbike maker Ubco saved by Kiwi rich-list families, adopts new focus
By Chris Keall, NZ Herald
Three Kiwi rich-list families and another former investor have stepped up to buy financially troubled electric motor bike maker Ubco.
How Factor, a New Zealand-based energy tech company, wants to make energy pricing and forecasting easier
By Mandy Te, interest.co.nz
The business-to-business company uses plug-and-play automation tools, with the help of AI, to support companies with energy pricing.
Government cannot achieve “enduring freshwater policy” by siding with narrow commercial interests
By Marnie Prickett, Mike Joy, Marie Doole and Simon Hales, PHCC
The Government has opened public consultation on the changes proposed to establish what it calls “enduring” national freshwater policy.
Can households really assess their own climate risk?
By Eloise Gibson, RNZ
An expert panel has called for consistent, quality information on flood risk to enable people to decide whether to buy, rent or renovate properties.
Canterbury dairy conversions surge amid soaring milk prices and looser rules
By Charlie Mitchell, The Press
A wave of dairy conversions is rolling through Canterbury, with more than 15,000 additional cows approved in just six months — a notable change after a period of slowdown.
Almost a third of NZ households face energy hardship – reform has to go beyond cheaper off-peak power
By Kimberley O'Sullivan, The Conversation
The spotlight is again on New Zealand’s energy sector, with a group of industry bodies and independent retailers pushing for a market overhaul, saying the sector was “broken” and “driving up the cost of living”.
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NZ still lacking coherent energy strategy
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Rod Carr | COMMENT: The government’s levy-funded foreign gas proposal for an LNG terminal shows New Zealand’s politicians being outmanoeuvred yet again by the multi-trillion dollar energy industry.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
Climate ambassador moves on
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
Media round-up
Fri 13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Thu 12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
Climate change linked to decline in southern right whale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
Te Araroa residents on edge over clogged stream and incoming Gisborne rain
Thu 12 Feb 2026
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | Anxiety levels are rising in storm-damaged areas of the East Coast as more rain is predicted to hit the region this week.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
