The government has announced it will restrict people’s ability to sue companies – and the state – for climate change harm, bringing an end to an ongoing landmark case brought by climate activist Mike Smith.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the change, which will ban tort-based claims for climate-related damage, will provide certainty for businesses and shore up investment confidence.
But he and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon both admitted it is designed to bring an end to ongoing proceedings between Smith and Fonterra, Genesis Energy, Dairy Holdings, New Zealand Steel, Z Energy and BT Mining – which the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 should go ahead.
It will also stop any cases being brought against the government.
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Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the change, which will ban tort-based claims for climate-related damage, will provide certainty for businesses and shore up investment confidence. It will also stop any cases being brought against the government.
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This year, the winning entry came from Sritam Kumar Sethy, a student at Berhampur University in India, while Australian researchers and wildlife snagged awards in several categories.
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Beard was in hospice care when he died at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side, band representative Bob Merlis said.
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The group are mostly elderly and retired and gather at an old sports building in Hastings to make coffins. “We are at a point where we don’t have the room to make any more,” Treasurer Cherie Hames says. “We are basically at capacity of what we can make on the premises. We have to find new premises.”
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Peters, who is also the minister for rail, said he pitched an alternative plan, to immediately put the harbour crossing to tender, but was outvoted in cabinet. His comments seemed to surprise both Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
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The Good Oil Word of the Day
The word for today is… raffish (adjective) - 1: marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness 2: marked by a careless unconventionality : rakish Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Raffish sounds like it should mean "resembling raff." But what is raff? Originally, "raff" was a word meaning