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Environmental Law Initiative - Latest News [Page 1]
Minister Urged To Intervene Over 146 Marine Mammal Sanctuary Deaths In Just Two Years
Friday, 24 April 2026, 7:37 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The figures show that 79 marine mammals were killed inside marine mammal sanctuaries during the 2023/24 fishing year, following earlier data revealing 67 deaths in the 2024/25 fishing year. More >>
Minister Was Required To Do Better Than ‘A Coin Toss’ On Climate
Wednesday, 18 March 2026, 5:41 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI’s Senior Legal Researcher Eliza Oldfield Prestidge says: “New Zealand’s climate law demands stable policy making and plans that will actually meet our carbon budgets. More >>
Minister’s ‘Fudged’ Climate Policy Faces Major High Court Challenge
Monday, 16 March 2026, 8:57 am | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI and Lawyers for Climate Action say the Minister’s decisions benefit major polluters, at a time when New Zealand’s percapita emissions remain among the highest in the world. More >>
Hoiho Judgment: Minister Must Take Whatever Steps Necessary To Ensure Hoiho Survival
Wednesday, 4 February 2026, 12:46 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
“Although we were not successful on the specific grounds of our judicial review, we are pleased by the very strong statements made by the judge,” says ELI’s Director, Research and Legal, Dr Matt Hall. More >>
High Court Confirms ECan’s Nitrate Pollution Rule Was Made In Error
Tuesday, 23 December 2025, 4:53 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
The High Court has found that Environment Canterbury (ECan) made an error of law when it allowed nitrate discharges from farming as a region-wide permitted activity in its regional plan. In a judgment dated 22 December, Justice Mander found that ... More >>
Large Crayfish Closure Welcomed, Will Require Long-Term Monitoring And Action To Succeed
Friday, 19 December 2025, 12:37 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
“These closures reinforce exactly what we’ve been saying in court: when stocks are so depleted that ecosystems begin to fail, the Minister is legally required to act,” Blattner de-Vries says. More >>
As Hoiho Court Case Wraps Up, ELI Says Long-Term Proposal For Hoiho Needs Rewrite
Wednesday, 3 December 2025, 8:32 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The current emergency closure does not do anything for hoiho on Rakiura or in the Catlins, and we learned the cost of that on Saturday when a hoiho was drowned in a set net. More >>
ELI Challenges Emergency Measures For Hoiho In Urgent High Court Hearing
Monday, 1 December 2025, 11:43 am | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI contends that in making the emergency closure decision, the Minister failed to consider the economic value of hoiho to tourism operators and local communities. More >>
Environmental Law Initiative Takes Glyphosate Case To Court Of Appeal
Monday, 17 November 2025, 8:23 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The Court did not engage with the question of when significant new information should be assessed for glyphosate, where the EPA acknowledged there is no record of any prior risk assessment in Aotearoa. More >>
High Court Challenge Launched Over Emergency Setnet Ban For Failing To Protect Hoiho
Thursday, 16 October 2025, 6:31 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI argues that the Minister neglected to consider the economic impact of hoiho deaths on the region’s eco-tourism operators. More >>
Emergency Closure For Hoiho Welcome But Falls Short
Monday, 15 September 2025, 12:44 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
The hoiho population has collapsed by 80% since 2008, from 739 breeding pairs to just 143. ELI was made aware of a further 3 hoiho deaths due to fishing in the second quarter of 2025. More >>
Government Moves To Strip Protections For Water Quality
Tuesday, 12 August 2025, 6:55 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
“The Government has introduced an amendment that will lock in pollution in some of our dirtiest rivers and open the door to new degradation elsewhere. More >>
Government Faces Legal Challenge For Under-Resourcing Of Fisheries Conservation And Research
Tuesday, 5 August 2025, 9:13 am | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI’s director, research and legal Dr Matt Hall says, “The setting of levies should be determined by what services, including scientific research and observer coverage, are required to meet the purposes of the Fisheries Act. More >>
EPA Faces High Court Challenge Over Glyphosate
Monday, 16 June 2025, 8:21 am | Environmental Law Initiative
Over recent decades, scientific evidence of glyphosate’s harm to human health, biodiversity, and ecosystems has grown. Many regulators overseas have responded by tightening restrictions on glyphosate use. In contrast, the regulatory approach in More >>
Litigation Challenges Conservation Plan For World’s Rarest Dolphin
Thursday, 10 April 2025, 7:14 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
The government hasn’t done all they can to prevent these dolphins from going extinct. With such low numbers left, we must get this right. The case will be heard in the High Court, with the hearing date yet to be fixed. More >>
High Court Rules DOC’s Permit For Mt Messenger Bypass Failed To Protect Wildlife And Was Unlawful
Monday, 10 March 2025, 8:44 am | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI challenged the authority which was issued by DOC under section 53 of the Wildlife Act. Section 53 allows the Director-General of Conservation to authorise taking or killing of wildlife for only certain purposes. More >>
High Court Victory For Environmental Law Initiative And Northland Hapū In Fisheries Case
Wednesday, 19 February 2025, 8:36 am | Environmental Law Initiative
“Twice now we have taken the Minister’s decisions for crayfish take in Northland to court, and both times the Minister has been found to have made unlawful decisions, based on flawed information from Fisheries NZ,” says ELI’s Legal Advisor Reto ... More >>
DOC’s ‘Hands Off’ Approach To Marine Species Protection Ruled Unlawful
Tuesday, 17 December 2024, 7:54 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
The Court found that DOC not only failed to receive adequate bycatch reports, but also had an unlawful policy of non-investigation and non-prosecution of offences under the Wildlife Act and MMPA. More >>
ELI Takes EPA To Court Over Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Decision
Tuesday, 8 October 2024, 2:36 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
Glyphosate-based herbicides are the most widely used weed killer in NZ. Yet it is alarming that we’ve been using these products for nearly 50 years without a full understanding of their impact on our people, native species, land, water, & ecosystems,” ... More >>
High Court Case Against Environment Southland For Wetland Losses Gets Underway
Monday, 30 September 2024, 10:06 am | Environmental Law Initiative
“Wetlands are home to incredible biodiversity, can absorb vast quantities of carbon, and are a natural form of flood and coastal protection. More >>
