Environmental Law Initiative - Aotearoa NZ

In many parts of Southland, the report draws a link between higher nitrates and dairy farming, winter grazing being described as a "high-risk pathway for nitrogen leaching".

#nitratecrisis
#southland
#freshwater
#nitrates

"Overall, 612 (44%) of domestic supply wells and 18 (45%) registered public drinking-water supplies were located "within areas classified as having high vulnerability to nitrate contamination" and were used by an estimated 13,632 people on public groundwater and 1530 people on private supplies."

Nitrate news 'not good’ for Southland Widespread degradation of Southland’s drinking water safety has been exposed in a council-commissioned report. The Environment Southland report...

The nitrate crisis isn’t just a Canterbury problem. Environment Southland has allowed waste from farming at levels now giving rise to widespread degradation of Southland's drinking water. Mary Williams from the ODT reports.

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Protecting Māui and Hector’s dolphins from extinction — Environmental Law Initiative We are taking the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to court for failing to adequately protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins.

At the heart of our case is the government’s Hector’s and Māui Dolphin Threat Management Plan (the Plan). We argue that the Plan fails to adequately protect the dolphins from fishing-related deaths.
Read more here: www.eli.org.nz/cases/maui-a...

From October 27th - 29th, we'll be in the Wellington High Court, challenging the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries for failing to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins.

Māui & Hector's Dolphin case update:
After navigating some prolonged procedural matters, including the seafood industry insisting on joining as a respondent in the case, we now have a court date!

#dolphins #conservation #MāuiDolphins #HectorsDolphins

The pressure campaign that sank a phantom water tax There was no water tax. But through branding and a manufactured sense of urgency, a pressure campaign on the Government appeared to secure a victory.

Here is the correct link: www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

The pressure campaign that sank a phantom water tax There was no water tax. But through branding and a manufactured sense of urgency, a pressure campaign on the Government appeared to secure a victory.

oops, yes here we go: www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

"What unfolded over fewer than 48 hours was not the defeat of a new policy. It was a case study in how modern lobbying can manufacture urgency around a complex issue, attach a politically toxic label to it, and force a government into public retreat before the details are widely understood."

This piece in The Press is a clear exposé of the way vested interests - the farming lobby, backed by the likes of the Taxpayers Union - directly undermine the public interest and our taiao.

www.thepress.co.nz/.../pressure....
#nzpol #freshwater

Submission: ELI response to the proposed Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill (replacing the RMA) — Environmental Law Initiative The Bills remove established environmental limits, enable more pollution by opening new rights not previously legally available to polluters, limit public standing to participate, as well as judicial ...

We strongly oppose the progression of the Bills through to law.

Read our full submission here: www.eli.org.nz/updates/rma-...

The Bills substantially weaken NZ’s environmental safeguards. They remove longstanding limits on pollution, introduce new rights for polluters that have never existed, diminish public participation, restrict judicial review, and undermine the stated intent of building an “enduring” planning system.

Background image with a lake and hills and some bush. ELI logo, with the text, "Submission. The Government plans to replace the RMA with two Bills. Our response: “The Bills, as proposed, would result in untenably weak environmental laws that could not feasibly endure.”

The Government plans to replace the Resource Management Act with two Bills. As proposed, they would result in untenably weak environmental laws that could not feasibly endure. If the goal is to create an enduring system, the law must get fundamental #environmental protections right.
#nzpol

Climate litigation: Holding the government to account for delivering an effective climate plan — Environmental Law Initiative With our friends, Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, we are taking legal action against the Minister of Climate Change over ‘glaring holes’ in the Government’s climate plan.

Hoiho are taonga/taoka.

This ruling makes clear the law requires their survival to come first.

We’ve put the full judgment and explainer on our website: www.eli.org.nz/cases/erp2

There are now so few hoiho left that the court is effectively saying:

If fishing puts them at risk, fishing has to stop.

And the urgency is hard to overstate.

The latest nest count for the northern hoiho population is 115 nests.

That’s a ~20% drop in a single year.

Why did we challenge an emergency closure we actually welcomed?

Because it only protected some hoiho habitat.

And we knew long-term rules were about to be written.

This case was about shaping those.

Because Fisheries NZ is currently preparing advice for the Minister on long-term protection measures for hoiho.

That advice is due in early 2026. A decision will follow soon after.

This ruling will now inform that process.

Justice Boldt could not be clearer:

“if new evidence shows that a choice must be made between commercial setnet fishing and the ongoing viability of the population, it is commercial fishing which will have to yield.”

That matters right now.

This came out of our case challenging the Minister’s limited emergency set-net closure.

We didn’t win on the specific legal grounds.

But the judgment gives clear direction about the Minister’s duty to protect hoiho.

The High Court judgment we received last week made landmark comments for hoiho - and other threatened marine wildlife.

"If fishing can’t happen without risking their survival, it can’t happen at all."

#hoiho
#yelloweyedpenguin

Hoiho judgment: Minister must take whatever steps necessary to ensure hoiho survival — Environmental Law Initiative Although ELI was not successful on the specific grounds of the judicial review, the judgment delivers powerful clarity about the Minister’s legal duties to protect hoiho.

Read more about our response here: www.eli.org.nz/updates/hoih...
#penguins #nzpol

As the judge stated, potential economic detriment to commercial fishers could never be a justification for allowing the decline of the population to continue.
This is a strong statement that the Minister & Fisheries NZ will now have to contend with in their decision-making on longer-term measures.

The Court described hoiho as “priceless” and a taonga, emphasising that their protection is essential “for its own sake.”
The Court has confirmed that the Minister is required to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure hoiho survival.

We challenged the Minister of Oceans & Fisheries’ decision to only close some hoiho habitat to setnet fishing, when the entire population is at risk.
While we were not successful on the grounds of our case, the judgment delivers powerful clarity on the Minister’s legal duties to protect #hoiho.

Greenwashing, illegality and false claims: 13 climate litigation wins in 2025 Legal action has brought important decisions, from the scrapping of fossil fuel plants to revised climate plans

The Guardian has published a summary of major climate litigation wins around the world from 2025. It’s a good read, and a reminder that people around the world are holding governments and polluters to account for climate inaction.

#climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Environmental Law Initiative Protecting and restoring Aotearoa's natural resources using law and science. Species & Biodiversity | Freshwater & Wetlands | Marine Environments | Climate Change

Alongside our friends, Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, we are taking the Minister for Climate Change to the High Court for an emissions reduction plan that fails to adequately reduce NZ's emissions.

The hearing will take place on March 16-18, 2026.

Read more at eli.org.nz and follow us for updates.

"Because weeks like this provide sure evidence not just that climate change is causing severe and volatile weather – but that it's dangerously so. Our grieving families and communities provide testament.”

Background image of flooding, (thanks to NIWA), with the text: Climate change. The North Island is flooding, again. Our thoughts go out to all families and communities impacted by the extreme weather events in recent days. We know that extreme weather becomes more frequent and intense as the climate warms, but our government isn’t acting to meaningfully reduce emissions. That’s why, in March, we’re taking them to the High Court.

Our thoughts go out to all families and communities impacted by the extreme weather events in recent days.

As Jonathan Milne of Newsroom wrote, "..We need to talk about this today, not wait until the winds settle and the floodwaters drain away...
#floods #nzpol #climatechange

A future where NZ is lauded, not embarrassed, for its climate action The year ahead: As a climate lawyer, writes Jessica Palairet, I’m often met with a degree of scepticism. What can lawyers, a privileged profession often defending the status quo, do about climate…

With our joint climate case heading to the High Court in March, this is a timely op-ed from Jessica Palairet at Lawyers for Climate Action. Her wishlist for 2026? A credible plan, bipartisan collaboration, & a govt focused on actually cutting emissions — not just legal risk 🌏

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