Climate Tort Prohibition: New information made public on corporate lobbying for law change

New information in the Smith v Fonterra case, released following an order by the High Court, raises serious questions about the extent of corporate influence on law-making in New Zealand and the level of transparency from the Prime Minister’s Office as to the corporate lobbying that took place ahead of the recent announcement that the government would intervene to stop the trial from going ahead. 

“This is not just about climate change anymore. This is about whether billion-dollar corporations can use their political access to shut down legal challenges they do not want to answer.”

Mike Smith

The information demonstrates that, in mid-2024, some or all of the defendants in Smith v Fonterra (Fonterra, Z Energy, New Zealand Steel, Dairy Holdings, Genesis Energy and BT Mining) lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office to amend the Climate Change Response Act to halt Mr Smith’s case and all subsequent cases seeking to hold major climate change polluters accountable for their emissions.  We understand that this information was only provided to Mr Smith after the announcement on 12 May 2026 that the law would change. 

This information was also absent from the response by the Prime Minister’s Office to an Official Information Act request by the Environmental Law Initiative for information about whether any such lobbying had occurred.  We support the Environmental Law Initiative's calls for an Ombudsman investigation and further inquiry to fully understand why this information has only now been made public following the High Court's orders. 

“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.”

Laura MacKay | Acting Executive Director

Find out more: The Environmental Law Initiative has published an explainer, including Mr Smith’s statement; you can also read reporting from RNZ and The Post.