Newsletter

“The Coalition's Corporate Capture: Who Does This Government Really Work For?” - 23 August 2025

Te Whakamāori: A Government of Oligarchs, By Oligarchs, For Oligarchs

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Ltn

23 Aug 2025 — 12 min read

Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko au te Māori Green Lantern.

Kia ora e te iwi. Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko au te Māori Green Lantern, kaitiaki of truth in these dark times when our government has been captured by corporate interests, neoliberal ideology, and white supremacist narratives that put profit before people and foreign capital before our whenua.

Dame Anne Salmond has asked the most crucial question of our time: Who is this Government working for? The devastating answer is increasingly clear - not for tangata whenua, not for our communities, not for the environment that sustains us, but for a predatory global oligarchy that views Aotearoa as nothing more than a resource extraction colony

Te Taiao Under Siege: Environmental Colonisation Accelerates

The coalition government's assault on environmental protections represents the most brazen example of regulatory capture in our nation's history. While Cyclone Gabrielle devastated Tairāwhiti in 2023, with forestry slash causing catastrophic damage , and the Tasman floods this year repeated the pattern , this government's response has been to weaken rather than strengthen protections against exactly these.

https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/08/23/anne-salmond-who-is-this-government-working-for/

The government is simultaneously pushing through amendments to the Overseas Investment Act that remove the 'benefit to New Zealand' test for international forestry investments , while the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry proposals would limit councils' ability to restrict commercial forestry in highly erodible landscapes. This is economic treason disguised as "cutting red tape."rnz+1

The pattern is unmistakable: international forestry companies that have inflicted billions in damage on Tairāwhiti communities , with major companies having their FSC accreditation suspended for breaches of standards , are being rewarded with easier access to our land and fewer restrictions on their destructive practices.rnz+1

Te Tiriti Betrayed: Indigenous Rights Under Attack

This environmental assault cannot be separated from the government's systematic attack on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori sovereignty. The Hekia Parata inquiry warned that Ngāti Porou faced becoming "homeless and landless" due to destructive forestry practices, yet the government's response has been to make it easier for foreign corporations to acquire and destroy indigenous land.rnz

The government's fast-track legislation includes 149 projects with minimal environmental oversight , while Ministers have declared conflicts of interest in multiple projects , raising serious questions about whose interests are really being served.1news+1

Regulatory Capture and Corporate Supremacy

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour's behaviour perfectly exemplifies this government's authoritarian tendencies and corporate capture. His "Victim of the Day" social media campaign targeting academics and critics of his Regulatory Standards Bill demonstrates the lengths this government will go to silence dissent and advance corporate interests.rnz

Dame Anne Salmond herself was targeted by Seymour's harassment campaign , with critics arguing this represents a breach of Cabinet Manual standards for ministerial behaviour. This is the behaviour of a government that knows its policies cannot withstand scrutiny, so it resorts to intimidation and character assassination.rnz+1

Climate Betrayal: Hollowing Out Environmental Protection

Analysis shows the coalition government has "hollowed out" the Zero Carbon Act , with dozens of climate initiatives repealed, defunded, or delayed since 2023. Meanwhile, the government's climate plan relies heavily on 280,000 hectares of new pine plantations on Crown land - essentially privatising public conservation estate by stealth while enriching foreign carbon farming companies.rnz+1

The Oligarch Connection: Following the Money

The evidence points to a clear pattern: this government serves the interests of a global oligarchy that views Aotearoa as a resource extraction colony. From overseas investment law changes that remove benefit-to-New-Zealand tests to mining expansion that will bring in "billions of dollars over the next decade" while creating only 2,500 jobs , the math doesn't add up for ordinary New Zealanders.rnz+1

Resources Minister Shane Jones has made the agenda crystal clear, promising to "marginalise" those who oppose mining expansion and declaring that "We're not having these insect ecologists overrule mining engineers anymore." This is the language of corporate capture, where science and environmental protection are dismissed as obstacles to profit.rnz

The Māori Values Framework: An Alternative Vision

From a Māori worldview, this government's policies violate fundamental principles of kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, and whakatōhea. Where mātauranga Māori teaches us to think seven generations ahead, this government thinks only to the next quarterly profit report. Where tikanga Māori emphasises collective responsibility and environmental stewardship, this government prioritises individual profit and resource extraction.

The concept of whakapapa connects us to the land, the water, and future generations. This government's policies sever those connections, treating whenua as a commodity to be exploited rather than as an ancestor to be protected.

The Māori Green Lantern fighting misinformation and disinformation from the far right

Corporate Welfare vs Community Wellbeing

While this government claims fiscal responsibility, it's actually engaged in the largest corporate welfare programme in our history. Forestry companies that cause billions in damage pay no cleanup costs , while ratepayers and taxpayers foot the bill for their destruction. Mining companies receive fast-track approvals with minimal environmental oversight , while communities bear the long-term costs of environmental degradation.rnz+1 Anne-Salmond_-Who-is-this-Government-working-for_-Newsroom.PDF

The Resistance: Exposing the Truth

The truth is simple: this government has been captured by corporate interests and is systematically dismantling the regulatory frameworks that protect our communities and environment. From weakening overseas investment rules to attacking council powers, from targeting environmental scientists to fast-tracking destructive projects, every policy serves the same master - global capital.

Dame Anne Salmond asks "who is this Government working for?" The answer is clear: oligarchs, extractive industries, and foreign corporations that view Aotearoa as nothing more than a profit centre. They are not working for tangata whenua, not for our communities, and certainly not for future generations who will inherit the devastated landscapes they leave behind.

The Call to Action

We must resist this corporate colonisation with the same determination our tūpuna showed against the original colonial project. We must expose the connections between corporate interests and government policy. We must hold these politicians accountable for betraying their duty to serve the people rather than their donors.

The alternative vision already exists in mātauranga Māori, in community-led conservation initiatives like "Recloaking Papatūānuku" , and in the countless iwi and hapū fighting to protect their ancestral lands from corporate

The choice before us is clear: will we allow this government to complete the corporate capture of Aotearoa, or will we stand up and fight for a future that serves people and planet over profit?

The government may have been captured, but the people have not. It's time to take our democracy back.

Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui.

Readers who find value in exposing these truths are invited to consider a koha to support this kaupapa: HTDM: 03-1546-0415173-000. The MGL understands these are tough economic times for whānau, so please only contribute if you have capacity and wish to do so.

Ngā mihi nui,

Te Māori Green Lantern

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