I’m writing to update you with the latest on the moves to stop climate lawfare, what we’re doing for Fieldays, and to ask you to consider supporting a petition for fairness on retirement villages.

Government takes up Joseph Mooney’s bill to end climate lawfare

You may recall last year when we backed Joseph Mooney’s member’s bill to stop climate lawfare.

A climate activist is suing Fonterra, Genesis Energy, Dairy Holdings and others, claiming damages caused by their emissions. (The case is called Smith v Fonterra).

While obviously nonsense – how would a court decide whether a weather event was caused by climate change and what proportion of the damage can be attributed to any particular company – the Supreme Court overruled the lower courts to say those questions can be considered by a court, creating a new liability for anyone emitting carbon. And yes, that’s all of us.

It’s one thing for Parliament and government ministers with their bureaucrats and resources to try to grapple with emissions and climate change (though they struggle plenty themselves), but a court just can’t keep up with the developing science and decides on legal principles, not the very real questions of the impact on the national interest and economic viability.

Creating new legal claims is something Parliament is supposed to do, not the courts. Civil claims like these can create enormous legal bills, uncertain penalties, and costly pre-compliance as everyone seeks to avoid the new legal unknowns.

Joseph Mooney’s bill would put the courts back in their place and climate policy back in Parliament and the Beehive. And now, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and the Coalition Cabinet have finally agreed, announcing they’ll take up the bill as a government bill.

Procedurally, that means the bill can start the legislative process right away and likely move through it faster as well, rather than waiting on the members’ ballot and the much slower track for members’ bills.

With the Government finally acting, the uncertainty is (nearly) over.

We can all be grateful for Joseph Mooney’s work in defending all New Zealanders, but especially the agriculture sector, from climate extremism and court overreach. He’s done exactly what everyone says they want MPs to do by identifying a problem, writing legislation, and lobbying to get it through.

We’ll keep you updated on where the bill goes from here.

Paris in the India FTA

It’s been a mixed bag from the Government, though, as it turned out that (among other things) the Free Trade Agreement with India included a mention of the Paris Agreement, noting that we remain committed to it.

When asked on The Platform why it was in there, Trade Minister Todd McClay said he didn’t know and he’d have to check who wanted it.

We know India doesn’t care about New Zealand’s emissions – if they were worried, they’d be letting our dairy in, which is so much more emissions-efficient than theirs, it’s barely comparable. So we’re left to wonder if the bureaucrats are sneaking these sorts of things into the agreements, or if politicians just aren’t bothering to read closely enough to check.

To be fair to Todd McClay, he also said that this mention of Paris didn’t have any kind of trigger clause attached to it, unlike what Labour put in the EU agreement.

As always, don’t let anyone tell you that our trade relies on Paris. Our goods are in demand because of their price and quality. And if anyone does actually want low emissions food (instead of just saying they do), they’ll be wanting our food over anyone else’s too.

Groundswell passes on Fieldays 2026

For the first time in some years, Groundswell won’t be going to Fieldays.

We’ve made the tough call to focus our funds and efforts on fighting the Gore and West Coast council plans, along with the upcoming election campaign.

We still wish everyone who will be there all the best and encourage you to ask any politicians you see when they’ll be quitting Paris.

Petition: Fairness for retirement village refunds

This is a little outside Groundswell’s usual focus, but we thought the rules for retirement villages affect all sorts of people, including rural communities, and what this campaign is asking for seems only fair.

At the moment, when someone leaves a retirement village, it can take years to get their money back from the scheme they paid into. There’s no deadline on how long the company can hold onto your money.

RVResidents and Consumer NZ are campaigning for a three month deadline for getting residents’ money back to them. You can read more and sign their petition here. The petition closes on 22 May.

Thank you again for your support.

Kind regards,
Bryce, Laurie, and the Team at Groundswell NZ