The Conservation Amendment Bill proposed major updates to conservation legislation. Of greatest concern were proposals to:
- amend Section 6 of the Conservation Act to require DOC to ‘recognise the economic opportunities that arise from the use and development of land and other natural resources’ on public conservation land, and to ‘enable this use and development to the greatest extent practicable’
- provide that up to 60% of public conservation land (i.e. land classifications or areas that are not specified in Schedule 5) would potentially be available for exchange or disposal
- reducing public participation in decision-making and concentrating power in the hands of the Minister of Conservation.
The Bill aroused great public opposition, to the point that the Government withdrew the section relating to conservation land disposal and exchanges.
Read the Nature & Climate group submission here: 2026-07-03 Nature and Climate Group NTCF_Conservation Amendment Bill Submission