After weeks of criticism from environmental groups, iwi and opposition parties, the Conservation Minister is removing the proposed sale and disposal provisions from the Conservation Amendment Bill.
Speaking at the Environmental Defence Society conference in Auckland, Tama Potaka acknowledged the Government had not been clear enough that the legislation was never intended to enable the large-scale disposal of conservation land.
He said he would ask the select committee to allow additional time for public submissions while officials amend the Bill.
The minister reiterated he would never support the large-scale sale or disposal of public conservation land, calling the proposed changes a distraction from the broader purpose of the legislation.
Cabinet Minister Shane Jones, after Potaka’s news, confirmed that the rest of the cabinet was on board with Potaka’s plans.
In a statement, Potaka reiterated that the government would “never dispose of those iconic landscapes”.
“But we were not clear enough about how the Conservation Amendment Bill improves outcomes for conservation, so we are fixing it.
“We have heard loud and clear the concerns about the potential disposal or exchange of conservation land, and we are acting on those concerns by removing those provisions from this bill,” says Potaka.
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson says removing the clauses does not fix the bill. She is calling for a complete rewrite of it.
“The purpose of the Conservation Act [is] so commercial development comes first, and nature comes second. Removing these clauses does not change what this reform was designed to do.
“You cannot fix a Bill written for developers by trimming the worst bits and hoping no one notices. The honest thing to do is stop, pull the whole Bill, and start again with a process that puts protecting nature for future generations at its heart.
“Our public conservation land is not the Government’s to sell, carve up, or quietly hand to commercial interests. The Green Party will keep fighting until this Bill is gone and the reform is started again properly, giving effect to Te Tiriti and putting indigenous-led stewardship at the centre,” says Davidson.
But, Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Gen Toop is calling for a complete scrap of the “unfixable bill”.
“Let’s be very clear. The Conservation Amendment Bill is unsalvageable. From start to finish this Bill is rotten to its core. It must be thrown out immediately.
“Even if National manages to convince its coalition partners to pull the land sales parts out - this Bill would still make it easier for open cast mines, private resorts, gondolas, and shopping malls to degrade the wild places we all treasure.
“That is as good as selling it off anyway,” says Toop.
The clause that is being retracted would’ve allowed 2.8 million hectares of conservation land to be sold in addition to the already eligible sale of 2.4 million hectares of stewardship land.
