Environmental law in New Zealand is an increasingly well defined body of national law that has a specialist court, The Environment Court of New Zealand (Māori: Te Kooti Taiao o Aotearoa), to decide related issues.
[citation needed] The increasing environmental awareness of the 1960s led to a specific body of environmental law that developed in many Western countries including New Zealand.
These Acts set up the Ministry for the Environment, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and the Department of Conservation.
Issues under the Act are adjudicated by the Environment Court of New Zealand.
This timeline outlines the more significant environmental legislation in New Zealand: