Documents show justice officials warned the Government not to go ahead with a law change that will restrict claims for damage or harm caused by climate change.
Despite that advice, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced his plan to introduce an amendment to the Climate Change Response Act earlier this month.
The move has prompted criticism from some of the country’s most senior lawyers, who said the Government’s trend of retrospective law-making is “disturbing”.
“We consider that it is time for Parliament to allow the courts to do their work as independent decision-makers on the law and respect this role,” the NZ Bar Association said in a statement on Tuesday.
Attorney-General Chris Bishop responded by saying the Government’s move to block climate change is “an example of the rule of law operating properly”, and denied that the law was retrospective.
