Official documents released Sunday, and seen by Carbon News, reveal that Fonterra and Z Energy government relations staff met with the Prime Minister’s Office in 2024 to advise on their concerns about the Smith vs Fonterra case.

Fonterra and Z Energy provided a briefing document to the Prime Minister's office regarding Smith's case against Fonterra and other major emitters, however this information was not disclosed by the Prime Minister's office when requested as part of a separate Official Information Act request by the Environmental Law Initiative.

The defendants in the case had also been ordered to release documents relating to their lobbying efforts by the end of March 2026, but the briefing note was only released through the discovery process in the High Court.

Taken by environmental campaigner and iwi leader Mike Smith, the court case names six high-emitting companies: Fonterra, Genesis Energy, Z Energy, BT Mining, New Zealand Steel, and Dairy Holdings.

The Government announced on May 11 that it would legislate “to prevent the courts from finding liability in tort for climate change damage,” in a move specifically intended to stop Smith v Fonterra.

Fonterra, Z Energy, and Genesis are all members of the Climate Leaders Coalition, which claims 81 corporate members spanning 30% of NZ GDP. The CLC, in turn, is managed by the Sustainable Business Council, the NZ chapter of a global organisation.

The NZ chapter claims but does not list its 130 members.

The convenor of the CLC, Genesis Energy’s chief executive Malcolm Johns, declined to discuss the briefings on the basis that he should recuse himself as a party to the Smith vs Fonterra action.

The SBC’s chair and executive director, Mike Burrell, did not respond to a request for an interview but provided a statement saying: “The Climate Leaders' Coalition has not advocated on this particular issue.

“We always consult with CLC signatories on any advocacy we undertake on their behalf. It is also CLC policy to not comment on individual company or legal matters.

“More generally, as the Coalition, we advocate collectively for policies and initiatives that support a low-emissions, climate-resilient future.”

Its advocacy documents were publicly available online and the collective was “firmly committed to … the Paris agreement and the goal of driving down emissions”, citing a recently published Snapshot report of member actions.

“Our signatories, currently representing 32% of private sector GDP, reduced total aggregate scope 1 & 2 emissions by 3% in the past reporting year alone,” a spokesperson for the SBC said in an email to Carbon News.

Green Party backs call for inquiry

The Green Party is backing the Environmental Law Initiative’s call for an independent inquiry following the revelations that the Prime Minister’s office failed to declare lobbying aiming to influence the Government to block Smith v Fonterra, the country’s most significant climate case.

The Environmental Law Initiative says the newly surfaced material raises serious questions about what other documents might have been left out of Official Information Act responses and whether the public has been given the full picture.

“Industry lobbying hidden by the Prime Minister’s Office strikes at the heart of transparent government,” says Matt Hall, ELI Director, Research and Legal.

Hall is calling for an independent inquiry, including Ombudsman oversight, to investigate the extent of information suppression by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“If powerful commercial interests were able to influence the blocking of a major public interest case behind closed doors, the public deserves to know how that happened, who knew, and what else has been withheld.”

The claimant in Smith v Fonterra, Mike Smith, says there appears to be a "deliberate effort" to conceal communications between the Prime Minister's office and the companies he is taking to court.

“The Government’s attempt to shut down climate litigation against major corporate emitters has exposed what appears to be a coordinated campaign of secret lobbying, political interference, and corporate influence at the highest levels of power.”

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says the facts lead to “very serious” claims of corruption: “That the Prime Ministers’ office is not being honest about the extent of the influence that industrial lobbyists have. That Fonterra and Z Energy, both major climate polluters, can turn up with secret hard-copy briefings, and essentially re-write the country’s laws in backroom deals.

“Regular people don’t get to give secret documents and have backroom meetings with the Prime Minister and then have the law changed in their favour,” says Swarbrick.

“It’s in everybody’s interest for an independent inquiry to establish the truth, motivations, and who knew what in this situation.”

PM ‘should explain’

Labour leader Chris Hipkins wants Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to explain how meetings between private companies and his office came to light only through court action, and whether other such meetings have gone unrecorded.

“Kiwis deserve to know why information from lobbyists to the Prime Minister’s Office only came to light through court action.

“New Zealanders expect the Prime Minister and his office to act in the public interest. Kiwis will be wondering if the PM's office have been working behind closed doors with private corporations to rewrite the rules in their favour.

Hipkins says the Official Information Act exists so the public can see how decisions are being made. “At this stage we don't have the full picture, but if documents were withheld to hide lobbying by companies for legislative changes, that strikes at the heart of open government.

“Kiwis deserve to know what was discussed, who was involved, and if promises were made behind closed doors.”

Boyd Swinburn, Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health at University of Auckland, said this was “yet another example” of why we need lobbying laws, a strengthened OIA, and an Integrity Commission. 

“Stories of commercial vested interests holding sway over government through lobbying and political party funding appear almost daily!” Swinburn wrote on Linkedin.

Lawyers for Climate Action also says the new information raises serious questions about the extent of corporate influence on law-making in New Zealand and transparency from the Prime Minister’s Office.

“New Zealand has always operated on a model of high trust when it comes to lobbying and political integrity, relying largely on convention rather than regulation. What has been revealed today reinforces the need for more effective guardrails to ensure transparency and to limit corporate influence” says Laura MacKay, Acting Executive Director.