Hands off conservation land

Public conservation land belongs to Aotearoa — not to mining corporations and billionaires.

But, the Luxon Government wants to make it easier to commercially exploit and even sell off public conservation land across New Zealand, putting five million hectares of conservation land at risk of being sold.

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Mountainous scenic view with red FOR SALE banner and PM Luxon looking serious
A sunset view over ranges, tussock in foreground

Conservation land is for people and for nature – not for billionaires and mining corporations

Public conservation land is part of who we are. It’s the snow-covered mountains, ancient forests, wild rivers and native birdsong that make Aotearoa unlike anywhere else on Earth. It’s where we go camping, tramping, fishing and hunting.

It’s one of our greatest defences against climate breakdown because huge tracts of native forests in the conservation estate store vast amounts of carbon. And it’s the last refuge for our endangered native species that are fighting to survive.

We’ve protected conservation land before. We can do it again.

The Luxon Government thinks they can slip the Conservation Amendment Bill through with minimal fuss. With your help, we’re going to show them just how wrong they are. 

Take action to protect conservation land

Together, we can win. With your support, we can galvanise wide opposition to the Government’s plans – from signatures to submissions, to contacting MPs, and showing the strength of feeling both offline and online. 

We will make it so that every politician knows that the public stands against the Coalition Government’s  plans to sell off the places that are so important to us all.

Conservation land is under attack

The Government’s proposed Conservation Amendment Bill is the biggest attack on conservation land in New Zealand’s history since it was created. But what’s at risk?

Putting 60% of NZ’s public conservation land at risk of being sold off?

Luxon’s Government wants to gut the Conservation Act 1987. They plan to make a staggering five million hectares – around 60% of all public conservation land in Aotearoa eligible for sale, and remove the critical test that land must have “no or very low conservation value” before it can be sold off.

Under these new rules, the government could immediately sell off:

  • Pristine beech forest in Lewis Pass
  • Ancient podocarp forest on the West Coast
  • High-country tussock lands in Eastern South Island

Once our wild places are sold off, dug up, and mined, we can’t get them back.

An aerial shot of Stockton open cast mine
A beautiful waterfall

Changing the purpose of the Department of Conservation

Since 1987, the Department of Conservation’s primary job has been to protect nature. But the Conservation Amendment Bill will rewrite DOC’s core mandate, forcing the Department to enable commercial exploitation of public conservation land.

If the Bill passes, DOC will be forced to enable commercial development ‘to the greatest extent practicable.’

They are proposing to hardwire that same commercial exploitation mandate throughout our Conservation law so that it is no longer about protection and conservation but about private commercial exploitation of public conservation land.

What conservation areas are at risk? 

All conservation land is at risk of being commercially exploited under the Bill, including  National Parks. The Government have also proposed to put a staggering five million hectares – around 60% of all conservation land in Aotearoa at risk of being sold off.

Are the special places you love at risk? Explore our map of conservation areas that could be levelled to make way for open cast mines or locked behind a billionaire’s private gate.

A map of New Zealand with red and orange areas highlighted

Chip in to make it happen

Will you donate to support Greenpeace’s vital work in protecting our public conservation land?

Donations can help us continue to challenge this Government’s war on nature and defend what makes Aotearoa unique — the nature, wild places and wildlife.

Donate now

The March against Mining

Fifteen years ago, we came together and stopped the Government from opening up our conservation land to mining. They proposed opening up the most ecologically rich ‘Schedule 4’ protected conservation lands to mining. They thought the public wouldn’t stop them.

They were wrong. It was one of the largest environmental mobilisations in our history. And it worked. The Government was forced to back down.

From defeating attempts to mine Schedule 4 conservation lands, to stopping seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight, to winning a ban on offshore oil & gas exploration – change only comes when a critical mass of people demand it.

Together, we can win again.

MARCH FOR NATURE

Defend conservation land

Add your name now and tell the Government: our conservation land is not for sale.

Sign the petition