Assessing Aotearoa's latest 'war on nature' or 'Goodbye Freddy'

Abstract

Since taking office in late November 2023, the National/ACT/New Zealand First coalition government in Aotearoa New Zealand has made rapid, comprehensive and far-reaching changes to environmental laws, regulations and policies. Further significant policy reforms are pending. This article outlines the main policy changes and summarises the many concerns that they have generated.
It then discusses the coalition’s apparent rationale for the changes, focusing particularly on resource management reform. Following
this, the article outlines the ecological values and principles that ought to inform environmental policy. It concludes with brief reflections on the longer-term implications of the coalition’s approach to environmental governance and management and the wider global failure to tackle the current ecological crises.