What can Australia learn from Aotearoa New Zealand's experiences with corporate law and climate change?

In 2021, the Aotearoa New Zealand government passed legislation making climate-related disclosures mandatory for some large public corporations.

Globally, they led the way in public financial reporting, acting before other jurisdictions and the International Sustainability Standards Board issued its financial reporting standards on sustainability-related financial information and climate-related disclosures.

In 2023, further reforms were enacted, clarifying that the fundamental duty of a company director to ‘act in good faith and in what the director believes to be the best interests of the company’ includes consideration of matters other than the maximisation of profit, for example, environmental, social, and governance matters.

However, the Aotearoa New Zealand government elected in 2023 intends to wind back these reforms.

This webinar, presented by Green Lab, Monash Business School and the Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies, Monash Faculty of Law, will provide updates in relation to corporate law and climate change in Aotearoa New Zealand, and ask what Australia can learn from these experiences.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s developments provide useful points of comparison for Australia. The Australian federal government passed its own mandatory climate-related disclosure laws in 2024, and the first reporting period commenced on 1 January 2025. With the next federal election on 3 May, current Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has indicated his intent to wind back these reforms if elected.

Please join us for a timely presentation from Jessica Palairet, Executive Director at Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, followed by a discussion comparing corporate responses to climate-related risks in Aotearoa and Australia, and considering the impact of dynamic uncertain policy environments and emerging climate litigation on corporate responses.

Speakers

Jessica Palairet, Executive Director at Lawyers for Climate Action NZ In (LCANZI)

Jessica is LCANZI’s Executive Director. Jessica was a proud member of Lawyers for Climate Action for a number of years before starting as Executive Director in late 2023. She is a lawyer (previously a Judges' Clerk at the High Court and junior barrister at Shortland Chambers) and has a Masters in Law from New York University specialising in international climate change litigation. She has also worked as an International Human Rights Law Fellow at the United Nations in New York.

Mark Beaufoy, Partner, King & Wood Mallesons

Mark is a specialist environmental and planning lawyer. He acts for Commonwealth, State and local government, statutory authorities, corporations and developers. He is experienced in all aspects of environmental and planning law including contaminated land and brownfield redevelopment, project approvals (infrastructure, energy and resources), environmental regulatory compliance and due diligence and environmental and planning litigation. 

Mark advises clients on environmental due diligence and legal strategies for managing environmental and planning legal risk in property and business transactions. He is also a lecturer at Monash University Law School (in climate, planning and environmental law), President of the National Environmental Law Association, and a Trustee for the Trust for Nature (Victoria).

Mark Baker-Jones, Director, Policy and Regulation, Te Whakahaere

Mark is a preeminent figure in the field of climate change policy and transition planning. With a career spanning over two decades, he has emerged as a leading authority in integrating climate change considerations into policy and business frameworks.  Mark's expertise is particularly focused on regulatory and policy risk associated with climate change and has made significant contributions to shaping national climate policy and advising on climate-related legal risks.

Mark’s expertise combines legal, policy, and strategic skills. He has worked extensively as a climate change policy advisor to governments in Australia and was a political advisor to Aotearoa New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister during the development of NZ’s climate change legislative regime.

In addition to his advisory roles, Mark has held senior legal roles in some of the world’s most prestigious law firms and has published widely on climate legal risk. He continues to hold positions with universities in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in climate change law.

David Barnden, Managing Principal and Director, Equity Generation Lawyers

David is the Managing Principal of Equity Generation Lawyers. He oversees the firm’s work on climate change, biodiversity and First Nations related matters. Prior to establishing the firm in 2019 David was a principal at Environmental Justice Australia. He gained significant experience litigating complex class actions at Maurice Blackburn, Sydney. David holds qualifications in Law and Applied Science (Coastal Management). He respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land and pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging.

Contact

greenlab@monash.edu

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