March for Nature
Aotea Square – Saturday, Setember 19th 2026, 1pm
Join us in Auckland for a peaceful protest to defend conservation land.
What is the March for Nature?
On Saturday 19 September 2026, at 1pm people from across Aotearoa will come together in Auckland to stand up for nature and defend conservation land.
The Luxon Government has waged a war on nature over the last three years and this attack on conservation land is the last straw. The Government is trying to push through the Conservation Amendment Bill to make it easier to exploit and even sell off public conservation land. From forests and wetlands to rivers, coastlines and mountain ranges, the places that belong to Aotearoa are under threat.
But we’ve stopped attacks on nature before.
Fifteen years ago, tens of thousands of New Zealanders marched to stop plans to mine the most highly protected conservation land in Aotearoa – and we won. And in 2024, when we last marched for nature over 20,000 people turned up. The march filled Queen Street from Aotea Square to the sea!
Once again, let’s stand together and defend the wild places we love.
Bring your friends, whānau, tramping buddies and community groups. Whether you’re passionate about wildlife, conservation, climate, hunting, fishing, tramping or simply protecting the places that make Aotearoa special, this march is for you.
What is the Conservation Amendment Bill?
The Luxon Government is planning a ram raid on public conservation land.
They are proposing to change the entire purpose of the Conservation Act and the Department of Conservation to make it easier to sell off public conservation land or open it up to private commercial exploitation.
Here is a breakdown of what the Government is proposing with the Conservation Amendment Bill:
- It expands the types of conservation land that can be sold or swapped. This means roughly five million hectares, roughly 60% of all public conservation land, could become eligible for sale or exchange.
- It changes the entire purpose of the Department of Conservation. Since 1987, DOC’s primary job has been to protect nature but the Bill would force DOC to enable commercial exploitation of public conservation land.
- It ‘unleashes’ commercial exploitation of protected lands, which could lead to faster approvals for mining and facilitate more intensive development within public conservation land.
This is the biggest attack on conservation land in New Zealand’s history. And it is the darkest and most critical moment in the fight to protect Aotearoa from destructive mining.