A nationwide protest movement is preparing to take to the streets, with around 30 demonstrations planned across Aotearoa against the Government’s controversial Conservation Amendment Bill.
The mobilisation reflects continuing opposition to what is described as the biggest overhaul of New Zealand’s conservation legislation since the Department of Conservation was established in 1987.
The bill, introduced by Conservation Minister Tama Potaka in May, is currently before Parliament’s Environment Committee. The Government says the reforms are designed to streamline conservation land management, improve the concessions system and better enable appropriate use and development while continuing to protect conservation values.
Opponents see the changes very differently.
Environmental campaigners fear the legislation will shift the balance between conservation and commercial development, making it easier for private activity to take place across parts of the conservation estate.
The original bill proposed broader powers for the Minister to exchange or dispose of conservation land, alongside changes intended to increase the likelihood of some concessions being granted. It also proposed new visitor amenity areas and the ability to charge some international visitors for access to specified conservation areas.
Public pressure has already forced a significant Government retreat.
In June, Potaka announced the contentious land disposal provisions would be removed following widespread opposition and tens of thousands of submissions and petition signatures. Environmental groups welcomed that change but argued other parts of the legislation remained unacceptable.
Now campaigners are taking that opposition beyond petitions and submissions, with protests planned in communities around the motu.
For Māori, the debate also carries significant questions around whenua, taonga, kaitiakitanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Section 4 of the Conservation Act requires the legislation to be interpreted and administered to give effect to Treaty principles. The proposed legislation includes changes intended to spell out how those obligations apply when decisions are being made around matters including concessions and land management.
The bill also contains consequential changes affecting Treaty settlement legislation, while its regulatory disclosure statement outlines specific provisions concerning customary marine title areas and arrangements involving Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Porou.
That makes the debate about more than tracks, national parks and tourism.
For tangata whenua, decisions over conservation land can intersect directly with whakapapa, customary relationships with whenua and wai, Treaty settlements and generations of kaitiakitanga.
The Government maintains reform is necessary to modernise a system that has become complicated and inefficient.
But opponents argue efficiency cannot come at the expense of the fundamental purpose of conservation — protecting the natural environment for generations yet to come.
With the bill still before the Environment Committee and its report due in November, the political fight is far from finished.
Thirty protests across the country are now intended to send Parliament a message from outside the select committee room.
Aotearoa’s conservation estate may be administered by the Crown, but campaigners say its future belongs to everyone — including the generations who have not yet arrived.
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