How the Government is pushing an extreme idea that would block environmental protection and reshape our democracy.
What if polluters could demand a payout – just for being told to stop polluting?
That’s exactly what the Government is considering. Under a radical new idea called “regulatory takings” – the idea that the public should have to pay compensation to corporations if new environmental rules affect their profits.
Yes, you read that right. We, the public, could be expected to pay corporations to stop harming people and the planet.
This flips one of our most country’s basic values on its head – the polluter pays principle where corporations that pollute the environment are expected to pay for the harm they cause. It’s a simple, fair idea that’s long been part of how Aotearoa protects its land, water, and people.
The Government is currently rewriting one of our most important environmental laws – the Resource Management Act (RMA) and are seriously considering inserting this “regulatory takings” idea.
Let’s be clear: “regulatory takings” is just a bland name for an outrageous idea – that Polluters shouldn’t pay for the harm they cause anymore, they should get paid.
What the Polluters Get Paid Plan means in practice
The ACT Party is leading the charge to embed this dangerous clause at the very heart of our environmental law and they are also pushing it in their proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. If they succeed, here’s what it could mean:
When a council tries to bring in a rule to stop a company from:
- Draining a wetland full of threatened species
- Polluting a river or drinking water
- Releasing toxins near homes or schools
…the company could claim its profits are being “taken” – and demand a publicly funded payout.
That leaves councils with two bad choices:
1) Back down and let polluters keep going, or
2) pay up potentially by raising rates, cutting essential services like libraries and pools, or delaying investment in clean water and climate resilience.
Regulation exists to protect us – to stop profiteering corporations from destroying ecosystems, polluting our air and water, and driving climate breakdown.
But if this goes through, the cost of doing the right thing – protecting nature, managing climate risks, standing up for communities – could become too high.
An Imported Ideology That Doesn’t Belong Here
Our laws have never accepted the idea that when governments act to protect the environment or people’s wellbeing then the public should pay off the polluters.
This extreme regulatory taking ideology is imported from the US, where corporate lobbyists argue any rule protecting the public or environment is a “taking” from corporate profit margins.
Regulatory takings is a disturbingly similar idea to the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses in international trade agreements – which the UN says have allowed fossil fuel companies to sue governments for billions when climate laws threaten their profits.
Putting regulatory takings into the new RMA would put the same toxic ideology straight into the heart of our environmental law, giving polluters a powerful new tool to stop councils from acting in the public interest.
Fairness Means Polluters Should Pay – Not Get Paid
This isn’t just about environmental law – it’s about who we are as a country.
Are we a country where fairness matters, where government works for us and where we work together to protect the land, rivers and wildlife?
Or are we going to let the ACT party turn Aotearoa into a country where corporations call the shots, and polluters get payouts while the rest of us pay the price?
Together, let’s reject the Polluters Get Paid Plan and resist imported ideologies that prioritise corporate property rights over people and planet.
Let’s demand that any replacement of the RMA strengthens, not weakens, environmental protections.
Sign the petition. Spread the word. This is a fight we can’t afford to lose.
