The political battle over seabed mining has shifted significantly ahead of Election 2026, with Labour joining Te Pāti Māori, the Greens and Opportunity in supporting a ban on seabed mining in Aotearoa.
Environmental group Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, KASM, says Labour has confirmed its position after the organisation wrote to political parties asking whether they would support a nationwide prohibition.
Labour’s oceans and fisheries spokesperson Rachel Boyack confirmed the party supports a ban and intends to amend legislation and regulations governing seabed mining if elected.
For iwi, hapū and coastal communities that have spent more than a decade opposing mining proposals off Taranaki and Wharekauri Chatham Islands, KASM says the political shift brings the prospect of permanent protection significantly closer.
LABOUR SHIFTS BEHIND A BAN
KASM Chairperson Cindy Baxter says Labour’s commitment represents an important breakthrough after years of resistance by communities determined to protect the moana.
Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party have long advocated stronger protection from seabed mining, and KASM says Labour’s support now creates a broader political bloc behind prohibition.
According to KASM, Labour has committed to changing the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf Environmental Effects Act, as well as replacements for the Resource Management Act and fast-track legislation, to give effect to its policy.
However, the commitment has an important limitation.
Labour’s proposed ban would not include sand dredging.
KASM says that exclusion is disappointing, particularly because of concerns surrounding proposed sand extraction at Bream Bay.
A FIGHT MORE THAN A DECADE LONG
The campaign against seabed mining has been particularly intense in South Taranaki.
Australian-owned Trans-Tasman Resources has spent years attempting to secure approval for a project that would extract iron-rich material from the seabed off the Taranaki coast.
Its proposals have faced sustained opposition from iwi, environmental organisations, fisheries interests and coastal communities.
That fight has moved repeatedly between environmental regulators and the courts, including the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s landmark 2021 decision dismissed TTR’s appeal over its marine consent, reinforcing the importance of environmental protection and existing interests under the Exclusive Economic Zone legislation.
TTR subsequently pursued the project through the Government’s Fast-track Approvals process, but an expert panel declined approval in December 2025.
For opponents, the repeated processes demonstrate why winning individual applications is no longer enough.
IWI HAVE BEEN AT THE FRONT LINE
Māori opposition has been central to the seabed mining debate.
In Taranaki, iwi and hapū have argued that removing millions of tonnes of material from the seabed could affect marine ecosystems, fisheries, customary relationships with the moana and responsibilities of kaitiakitanga.
The South Taranaki proposal has drawn particularly strong opposition from Ngāti Ruanui, which has fought the project through regulatory and legal processes.
The debate therefore extends beyond environmental regulation.
It reaches directly into mana moana, whakapapa, customary rights, mahinga kai and the ability of tangata whenua to exercise kaitiakitanga over marine environments.
For communities that have repeatedly appeared at hearings, commissioned experts, mobilised supporters and fought legal battles, KASM says continually having to defend the same stretch of moana imposes its own financial and emotional cost.
CHATHAM ROCK PHOSPHATE ALSO WAITING
The Taranaki proposal is not the only project behind calls for permanent legislation.
Chatham Rock Phosphate has sought approval to mine phosphate nodules from the seabed on the Chatham Rise.
Its earlier marine consent application was refused by the Environmental Protection Authority in 2015, with the decision-making committee finding the environmental impacts could not be sufficiently understood or mitigated.
KASM fears that without an explicit statutory ban, mining companies can continue pursuing new regulatory pathways even after earlier proposals have been defeated.
That is why the organisation wants Parliament to settle the question through legislation.
ACT SAYS NO — NATIONAL AND NZ FIRST YET TO RESPOND
The emerging political divide could make seabed mining an election issue.
KASM says ACT has responded to its survey and does not support a ban.
The organisation says it has not yet received responses from National or New Zealand First.
That leaves a clear divide among parties that have declared their positions.
Labour, Te Pāti Māori, the Greens and Opportunity support prohibition, while ACT opposes it.
KASM is now asking parties supporting a ban to go further by setting out exactly when legislation would be introduced, what would happen to existing permits and how future applications would be prevented.
Those details could ultimately determine whether a political promise translates into lasting protection.
THE SAND DREDGING GAP
KASM is also making clear that it does not consider Labour’s policy complete.
The exclusion of sand dredging leaves another form of seabed extraction outside the proposed prohibition.
That matters particularly in Bream Bay, where a proposed sand extraction project is progressing through the Fast-track Approvals process.
KASM argues that if the principle is protecting marine ecosystems and coastal communities from potentially damaging seabed extraction, sand mining cannot simply be ignored.
Labour will therefore face pressure from environmental organisations to explain where it draws the line between seabed mining that would be prohibited and marine extraction that could continue.
FROM COURTROOMS TO THE BALLOT BOX
For more than a decade, the seabed mining battle has been fought through hearings, environmental assessments, protests and courtrooms.
Election 2026 could move that fight directly into Parliament.
A legislated ban would fundamentally change the landscape by shifting communities away from repeatedly contesting individual mining proposals towards permanent statutory protection.
But whether that happens will depend on the numbers after the 7 November election and the conditions negotiated between parties forming the next Government.
For KASM, iwi, hapū and coastal communities that have spent years defending the moana, the message is that they should not have to keep winning the same battle.
The question for Election 2026 is increasingly straightforward: should the seabed remain available for mining applications, or should Parliament close the door for good?
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