New Zealand
All Aboard Aotearoa v Waka Kotahi
Jurisdiction: High Court of New Zealand
Principle law(s): Resource Management (Energy and Climate Change) Amendment Act 2004
Side A: All Aboard Aotearoa (Ngo)
Side B: New Zealand Transport Agency (Government)
Side B: Waka Kotahi (Government)
Core objectives: Whether decision to build a road was unlawful under New Zealand's climate commitments.
Summary
In March 2021, a coalition of climate and transport advocacy groups, All Aboard Aotearoa, filed a judicial review claim against Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency. The claimants seek an order setting aside Waka Kotahi's decisions to fund and build Mill Road, a 21.5 km road in southeast Auckland. The claimants asserted that the decisions undermined the government's commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Climate Change Response Act 2002, and that the decision-maker did not properly consider the greenhouse gas emissions of the project.Related laws and policies
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Resource Management (Energy and Climate Change) Amendment Act 2004
This Act updates the Resource Management Act 1991 and recognises the government's preference for national co-ordination of controls on GHG emissions and gives greater emphasis to climate change and energy matters in resource management, planning, and decision-making. The Act makes explicit provis...