Officials investigating after climate document went missing, PM’s staffer used private email

Tuesday, 2 June 2026

The Prime Minister has slammed the use of a private email address by a former chief policy advisor as 'completely inappropriate' after a review was launched into hidden climate change lobbying documents.

The Department of Internal Affairs is investigating why a former senior staffer in the prime minister’s office was using his personal email account to receive documents from Fonterra.

The document came to light through litigation, brought by iwi leader and climate activist Mike Smith. He was arguing that companies had breached their duty of care to the public by emitting climate-warming gasses.

Smith’s case could have set a landmark precedent for climate law in Aotearoa, potentially creating an enforceable obligation for companies to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions.

But the Government discarded Smith’s case, passing its own law to overrule his argument.

He started this legal battle against some of the country’s biggest polluters, Genesis Energy, New Zealand Steel, Z Energy, BT Mining, Fonterra and Dairy Holdings, way back in 2024.

As a result, the Government and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon faced lobbying from those companies, who wanted Parliament to intervene and protect them from litigation.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his office said it had “no record” of the climate document or meeting with Fonterra lobbyists.

Their lobbying was ultimately successful, given Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced, in May, that the Government would intervene.

Around the same time, elements of Fonterra’s lobbying became public.

Documents released to Smith in May showed Fonterra lobbyists met with Luxon’s chief policy adviser. They shared a hard copy document relating to the Smith v Fonterra case.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says law changes are needed to give businesses certainty, but critics label the move an 'abuse of power' that undermines the rights of New Zealanders to hold major polluters to account in court.

That document was not released under an Official Information Act (OIA) request which asked for correspondence with parties to the case. Luxon and his office said it had “no record” of the document or meeting.

The Ombudsman, last week, said it was investigating the prime minister’s compliance with the OIA related to that issue.

Then on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Luxon said the Department of Internal Affairs – which operates Ministerial Services and the state Archives – was also investigating.

The spokesperson said the prime minister’s office was now aware that the former staffer who received the hard document, Matt Burgess, had also used his personal email to receive information from Fonterra.

“This does not meet the standards expected of staff in the Beehive and we are treating it with the seriousness it deserves, with a number of reviews underway.

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Government had changed the law “in a way that will clearly benefit large corporations ... to the detriment of our environment.”

“The Department of Internal Affairs is conducting a review of the former staff member’s IT account to ensure there are no further documents or meetings relating to the Smith v Fonterra case that should be released, and will work with the individual to identify whether there are any other work-related documents on their private email that should be on the public record,” the spokesperson said.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said this case highlighted the influence of powerful corporates over the Government.

“The more new information comes to light, the more this looks like a deliberate ploy by the Prime Ministers office to hide the extent of industry lobbying and influence.

“Christopher Luxon’s Government have agreed to change the law in a way that will clearly benefit large corporations like the petrol companies to the detriment of our environment. This stinks to high heaven. What else are the Prime Minister and his office hiding from the New Zealand public?” he asked, on Tuesday.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said Burgess left his office in October, then left Parliament in January. They said he had insisted this was the only time his private email was used to receive public information.