Abstract
While nationally and globally there continues to be demand for genuine responses to climate change, some states and industry groups are attempting to actively limit public debate about these issues (see for example, Swyngedouw, 2013). This is often done by pitting economic growth against environmental protection (Diprose, Thomas, & Bond, 2016), and criminalising protest against protest against profitable extractive industries. These international trends have been noted in Aotearoa New Zealand (see Bond, Diprose, & McGregor, 2015), but the extent has yet to be investigated. We therefore explore the extent to which democratic debates around oil and gas developments are constrained in Aotearoa New Zealand, what processes are used to close down public engagement, and how these processes are experienced and contested by activist groups concerned about climate change.