The Salmon Lecture: Access to Justice for the Natural Environment. Watch Judge Newhook’s powerful lecture - now available on demand.

What if rivers, forests, and ecosystems had the same right to be heard as people? In his 2025 Salmon Lecture, retired Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook makes a powerful case for giving nature a voice in our legal system. Drawing on international biodiversity frameworks, the Whanganui River personhood model, and his own decades on the bench, Judge Newhook explores how access to justice for the environment could reshape New Zealand’s future.

This is more than theory — it’s about the choices we face today. Should fast-track development override the long-term health of ecosystems? How can communities, iwi, and environmental defenders be better supported to stand for nature? Judge Newhook’s lecture offers insight, challenge, and hope for a system that recognises the environment not just as a backdrop to human activity, but as a living participant in our shared future.

If you missed the lecture earlier this year, we’ve made Judge Newhook’s powerful lecture on environmental justice, legal innovation, and our shared future available to watch on demand.