No time for half measures - ban import of palm oil by-products

The Government should take urgent action to ban imports of Palm Kernel Expeller and Palm Kernel Meal, the Green Party says.

“Earlier this week we were delighted to see New Zealand join with more than 100 other countries in pledging to protect and restore forests around the world. Taking action right now will make that commitment meaningful. Banning the import of Palm Kernel Expeller is one of the most significant contributions the Government could make towards meeting this goal,” says Teanau Tuiono, the Green Party’s spokesperson for agriculture.

Palm Kernel Expeller (PKE) is a by-product of palm oil refining, commonly used as supplementary feed for dairy farms. New Zealand is the biggest importer of PKE in the world.

The manufacture of PKE overseas contributes to illegal and unsustainable rainforest destruction, which contributes to climate change. PKE then makes a further contribution to climate change when it arrives in New Zealand as it provides cheap feed for intensive farming in Aotearoa.

“Forests support an enormous diversity of life – from the indigenous communities that depend on them for their livelihoods, to the millions of plants and wildlife species found there, to the work they do absorbing climate pollution we put into the atmosphere. And yet, all over the world, these precious ecosystems are disappearing at an alarming rate.

“Previous Governments have allowed the import of PKE to continue unabated, which has not only aided the destruction of rainforests to create palm plantations, but incentivised livestock farms to sustain higher numbers of cows than locally grown feed sources can provide for – both of which has made a massive contribution to the climate crisis.

“Last week, Minister Nash told Parliament on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor that New Zealand would not support the import of PKE that lead to illegal activity overseas. Now, as one more than 100 countries pledging to protect and restore forests around the world, it can go a step further and ban PKE imports all together.

“This is no time for half measures. By signing the Declaration on Forest Land Use, New Zealand, as a major consumer of deforestation-linked products like PKE, has committed to doing what it can to protect forest ecosystems. This is a great step forward. Now the Government must put its money where its mouth is and stop the use of PKE in New Zealand for good,” says Teanau Tuiono.

ENDS

Action

Oppose New Zealand First’s Member’s Bill!

Support Trans Rights | Oppose the Gender Definition Bill

Action

Reject the Defining Gender Bill

Reject the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill introduced by New Zealand First.

Action

Disability Support System - Submission Guide

Uphold disability rights so disabled people and their whānau can thrive. Oppose the Disability Support Services Bill

Action

Oppose the 2026 budget

Sign our petition to show you oppose the Government's 2026 budget

Action

Leave our homes alone!

The Green Party is calling on the Government to stop its attack on people living in public housing - join our call today!

Action

Drug Overdose (Assistance Protection) Legislation Bill Submission Guide

Support Green MP Kahurangi Carter’s Bill to protect overdose emergency callers from legal risks!

Action

Keep Fees Free

Join our call to keep Fees Free for tertiary education!

Action

Protect Conservation Land

Sign out petition to oppose the Conservation Amendment Bill and protect conservation land!

Action

Stop the Fisheries Amendment Bill

Sign today to protect our moana.

Action

Electrify everything

Show your support for a National Electrification Plan!

Action

A home for everybody

A home for everybody - sign and share the open letter today!

Action

Tell us your stories about our special places

Share with us your stories about the places threatened by being fast tracked for mining permits.

Action

Protect our tamariki - Sign the open letter

Every child in Aotearoa deserves to grow up with safety and stability, wrapped in aroha. Sign our open letter today and help make that a reality!

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Environment Announcements

Story

$30m for school drinking water safety is a start but pollution keeps flowing

The Green Party is welcoming Government investment of $30m into school drinking water following their questions on the issue, but warns rural commu...

“End of an era” as Government law change disestablishes Ministry for the Environment

The Green Party is condemning the Government’s disestablishment of the Ministry for the Environment, following the law change required to scrap the...

NZ democracy at risk of corporate corruption - Green Party backs urgent inquiry

Allegations that the Prime Minister’s office withheld information about backroom lobbying by major climate polluters - ahead of legislating to prev...

Action needed on widespread drinking water problems

The Green Party says while it is relieved the cause of the recent 'boil water' notice in Auckland was easily addressed, more action is needed to de...

9,000 students faced unsafe drinking water at school last year

The Green Party has released data showing 9000 students across more than 70 schools and pre-schools faced unsafe drinking water in 2025, with water...

Fast-track Decision Looms on Destructive Waitaha Hydro Scheme

The Green Party says the Fast Track expert panel should turn down the previously declined ‘Waitaha Hydro’ project, which if approved will destroy a...

Story

Treasury confirms $5 billion bill for Luxon's climate inaction

Treasury has put a price tag on Luxon's Government's climate inaction, with new analysis showing it could cost up to $5 billion to buy the offshore...

Budget 2026 confirms Luxon’s climate ‘plan’ is a trashfire

Budget 2026 confirms the Government has no plan to meet our commitment under the Paris Climate Agreement, at a cost that previously Treasury calcul...

Luxon quietly borrows $1.4 billion more to hide climate failure

The Green Party has revealed Luxon's failed climate policies have created a $1.4 billion fiscal hole, after the Government's retreat on climate cau...

Luxon’s Government found breaching trade agreements again

Today’s report from Lawyers for Climate Action shows that Luxon’s handouts to fossil fuel companies likely breach New Zealand’s trade agreement wit...

NZ democracy at risk of corporate corruption - Green Party backs urgent inquiry

Allegations that the Prime Minister’s office withheld information about backroom lobbying by major climate polluters - ahead of legislating to prev...

Luxon protects polluters’ profits in sweeping, rushed climate change law amendment

The Government’s surprise announcement this morning to amend the Climate Change Response Act is yet another example of Luxon loosening the leash fo...

Story

Bill would protect public conservation land this Government wants to mine

Green Party Member Lan Pham's Bill to prohibit mining on conservation land has been drawn from the ballot today.

Luxon’s Government guts conservation protections

The Green Party says the Government is bringing in the bulldozers to rip up New Zealand’s precious landscapes by making it easier to privatise publ...

Government sacrifices nature to the bulldozer

Christopher Luxon’s Government continues to show its true colours on environmental protection, today rejecting most of the advice of expert panels ...

Wildlife law change a deep betrayal of public trust

The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s use of urgency to rewrite the Wildlife Act–without consultation, without an impact statement, and i...

Govt funding for biodiversity an embarrassment

The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for c...

Labour must deliver on No New Mines

The Green Party is disappointed tonight that the Government has voted down Eugenie Sage’s members’ bill to stop new mining on conservation land. Th...

Story

Overwhelming farmer support for equal welfare standards for pork imports

The Green Party says a new poll has found strong farmer support for fairer import standards for animal products, consistent with the intent of a Me...

Greens call for urgent inquiry into food factory closures

The Green Party is calling for an urgent select committee inquiry into the closure of Heinz Watties, Greggs, and McCain food processing facilities.

Govt must own its role in Canterbury nitrate emergency

The Green Party welcomes Environment Canterbury’s decision today to carry a motion declaring a nitrate emergency, and is calling on the Government ...

Biodiversity credit won’t fix damage done by Luxon Govt

The Green Party says the Government’s newly announced Biodiversity Credit scheme is a tiny positive that doesn’t undo the biodiversity harm caused ...

Luxon needs to address the cow in the room

The Green Party was appalled to hear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claim we are “doing everything we can” on climate change, while his governmen...

Farmers among first and worst hit by climate change

The Government has once again kicked the climate action can down the road by removing agricultural emissions from the Emissions Trading Scheme.