NZ Govt legalising killing of kiwi - Newsroom

[Michael Szabo]

The NZ Government is passing a law tonight that legalises killing kiwi

The Government has introduced a bill into Parliament that would make it legal to kill protected wildlife, which is being rushed through all stages under urgency, without public consultation or proper scrutiny.

The amendment to the Wildlife Act, New Zealand’s foundational wildlife protection law, would allow the Director-General of Conservation to grant companies permission to kill native kiwi and other native animals if they get in the way of projects like roads, mines or dams.

The Bill comes after a landmark High Court decision in the case of the Environmental Law Initiative v The Director-General of the Department of Conservation (DOC) and others. The case challenged DOC’s decision to grant Waka Kotahi permission to kill native wildlife during the construction of the Mt Messenger Bypass in Taranaki.

The Judge ruled that the permit was unlawful, upending years of DOC’s practice of granting permits which authorised the killing of native wildlife under the Wildlife Act.

The new bill overrides that ruling.

Link: https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/05/06/law-c ... and-frogs/

[Michael Szabo]

The government passed the bill amending the Wildlife Act under urgency so there was no opportunity for scientists or the public to make submissions through a Select Committee process. This article sets out the case against the law change:
https://wwf.org.nz/news/nature-positive ... rt-termism