{"id":77524,"date":"2026-06-04T16:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=77524"},"modified":"2026-06-04T16:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:22:13","slug":"the-biggest-attack-on-conservation-land-in-new-zealands-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-biggest-attack-on-conservation-land-in-new-zealands-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The biggest attack on conservation land in New Zealand\u2019s history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How the Luxon government plans to\u00a0gut the Conservation Act and open the door to selling off a staggering five million hectares – around 60% of all conservation land in Aotearoa.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Our public conservation land is part of who we are. It\u2019s the snow-covered mountains, ancient forests, wild rivers and native birdsong that make Aotearoa unlike anywhere else on Earth. It\u2019s where we go camping, tramping, fishing and hunting. <\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s the last refuge for our endangered native species that are fighting to survive. And it\u2019s one of our greatest defences against climate breakdown because huge tracts of native forests in the conservation estate store vast amounts of carbon. <\/p>\n\n

But the Luxon Government is planning a ram raid on our public conservation land.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

They want to gut the Conservation Act and open up a staggering five million hectares – around 60% of all conservation land in Aotearoa for sale.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n

This is the biggest attack on conservation land in New Zealand\u2019s history. And it is the darkest and most critical moment in the fight to protect Aotearoa from destructive mining. Because now they are coming for our public conservation land. <\/p>\n\n

Once our wild places are sold off, dug up, and mined, we can\u2019t get them back.<\/p>\n\n

Here is a breakdown of what the Government is proposing with its Conservation Amendment Bill.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

1. Opening the door to selling off 60% of the Conservation Estate <\/h2>\n\n

Right now, our conservation law is incredibly strict on selling off or exchanging parcels of public conservation land. And that is as it should be. <\/p>\n\n

The Department of Conservation (DOC) can only sell land classed as stewardship land <\/a>and only once it has been thoroughly assessed and found to have no or very low conservation value<\/strong>. Any land swap must actively enhance<\/em> conservation outcomes.<\/p>\n\n

The new Bill guts these protections.<\/strong> It expands the types of conservation land that can be sold or swapped and removes the requirement that land must be of “no or very low\u201d conservation value. It’s not just stewardship land that could be on the auction block anymore, it’s Conservation and Forest Parks – like the Tararua, Whirinaki, and Mount Richmond forest parks. It\u2019s Reserves like Cathedral Cove and even Rangitoto Reserve.<\/p>\n\n

It is a staggering five million hectares<\/strong>\u2014roughly 60% of all public conservation land\u2014that could become eligible for sale or exchange. According to DOC\u2019s own analysis<\/a>, under these new rules, the government could sell off:<\/p>\n\n