Environmental Law Initiative calls for inquiry after court order reveals PM’s Office hid corporate lobbying to quash Smith v Fonterra case
The Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) is calling for an Ombudsman inquiry and a Solicitor-General review following revelations that the Prime Minister’s Office suppressed significant lobbying by Fonterra, Z Energy and others that contributed to the Government’s move to block Mike Smith’s climate case from being heard in the High Court.
ELI says the newly surfaced material raises serious questions about what other documents may have been left out of Official Information Act (OIA) responses and whether the public has been given the full picture. It is urging an independent inquiry, including Ombudsman oversight, to investigate the extent of information suppression by the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Industry lobbying hidden by the Prime Minister’s Office strikes at the heart of transparent government,” says Dr Matt Hall, ELI Director, Research and Legal.
“If powerful commercial interests were able to influence the blocking of a major public interest case behind closed doors, the public deserves to know how that happened, who knew, and what else has been withheld.
"The Solicitor General and Ombudsman need to take action, to restore confidence in the integrity of official decision-making.”
ELI had sought official information in March 2025 about meetings, discussions or conversations regarding the Smith case and any proposed legislative or regulatory response. It appears that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) withheld a document which now shows direct lobbying of PMO staff by the defendants in the Smith case. This document only came to light due to discovery obligations on the various corporate defendants. Information about meetings also appears to have been omitted.
“We sought official information about corporate lobbying and received only limited material, so to see this document emerge later in such an important case is deeply troubling,” says Dr Hall.
“The Government needs to stop its plans to strip citizens of the right to sue corporate polluters for climate damage.”
ELI is not involved in Mike Smith’s proceedings. We do think it is important that his story is told - see the information below for the documents and information relating to this situation, including the OIA responses ELI received.