Green Party will protect public conservation land for future generations

The Green Party is announcing in government it will overhaul the laws protecting Aotearoa’s conservation land and wildlife, scrapping the Government’s current reform and starting again with a process focused on protecting what we have for future generations.

“Our public conservation land is not the Government’s to sell. It belongs to all of us, and to the generations who come after us. Conservation reform should give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, put indigenous-led land stewardship at the centre, and make it the job of the system to halt and reverse nature loss,” says Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson.

The commitment is part of the Green Party’s 2026 Manifesto.

“The laws meant to protect our wildlife and our wild places are failing. Nature loss is accelerating and the conservation system is not up to today’s challenges. In Government, the Green Party will rewrite those laws.”

The Green Party will:

• Stop this Government’s Conservation Amendment Bill.

• Restore the purpose of the Conservation Act 1987 so conservation comes first, reversing any shift towards the prioritisation of commercial development on conservation land.

• Protect conservation land from being sold or disposed of by restoring the strong test for any disposal.

• Make halting and reversing nature loss the core purpose of the conservation system.

• End any requirements for the Department of Conservation to enable commercial use and commercial development of conservation land.

• Give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and prioritise indigenous-led stewardship of the whenua.

• Resource and empower the New Zealand Conservation Authority, conservation boards, and the public to have a real say in decisions about conservation land.

“This Government is rewriting the purpose of the Conservation Act so it serves developers instead of nature. We will undo that, close the door to selling off conservation land, and start the reform process again, this time built for future generations rather than commercial interests.”

“Tangata whenua have cared for these lands, rivers and lakes for generations. A system that gives effect to Te Tiriti and resources indigenous-led stewardship is one that protects nature for the long haul, not just the next electoral cycle.”

“This Government is looking at our conservation land and seeing a balance sheet. We look at it and see the inheritance of every child in this country.”

“Nearly 50,000 people have signed our petition to protect conservation land, and polling shows 64 per cent of New Zealanders do not support selling it off.”

“New Zealanders have been clear about what they want, and it is not a fire sale of the places that make this country what it is. This Government has the power to rule that out and protect conservation land, but it is choosing not to.”

“The choice is simple. We can keep treating our wild places as something to be carved up and sold, or we can lock in their protection for the tamariki and mokopuna who will inherit them,” says Davidson.