{"id":79340,"date":"2026-10-07T09:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T20:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=79340"},"modified":"2026-10-07T10:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:49:37","slug":"the-stakes-are-high-for-the-ocean-this-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-stakes-are-high-for-the-ocean-this-election\/","title":{"rendered":"The stakes are high for the ocean this election – your vote will count"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Aotearoa we have more ocean than most, and the vast majority of us feel insanely lucky to share it with the diversity of life that we do. Half the species found in New Zealand waters are found nowhere else on Earth<\/a>, and we\u2019re a hotspot for cetaceans, seabirds and vibrant cold water corals. <\/p>\n\n

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A white-capped albatross with its chick at a breeding colony at South West Cape, on subantarctic Auckland Island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

On a personal basis, I\u2019ve had some of my favourite experiences in the ocean, swimming through kelp forests or encountering eagle rays, or floating in the middle of the Tasman Sea hundreds of miles from land. These moments will be front of mind for me when I head to the ballot box this election, as well as the feeling of responsibility to future generations to get the next three years right.<\/p>\n\n

Because as election day approaches, I can\u2019t stop thinking about where we were three years ago.<\/p>\n\n

Lessons from 2023<\/h3>\n\n

I remember 2023 starting with such hope. Nations agreed to the historic Global Oceans Treaty in March, and with it, committed to protecting our blue planet better for the future. New Zealand was an early signer of this historic agreement, signaling their intention to work with other countries and make ocean protection a reality. Co-operation and conservation had prevailed. <\/p>\n\n

But just a few months later, the coalition government took the helm in New Zealand, and ever since Luxon, Seymour and Peters have been steering us drastically off course, and against the wishes of the public who care deeply about the ocean. <\/p>\n\n

While more New Zealanders than ever have been calling for an end to bottom-trawling, increased ocean protection and better outcomes for threatened marine species, the coalition government has been working to do the exact opposite.<\/p>\n\n

The coalition has overseen an onslaught on ocean protection<\/h3>\n\n

It\u2019s been an onslaught for the ocean, a combination of the government ignoring scientific evidence, and writing new laws when they find the existing ones inconvenient for their industry-led agenda.<\/p>\n\n

\"Greenpeace
Greenpeace Aotearoa activists confront the Talley\u2019s bottom trawler Amatal Atlantis on the Chatham to protest destructive bottom trawling.
\u00a9 Paul Hilton \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

When the fishing industry wanted to trawl a known fragile coral hotspot, this government advocated for their right to do so on the international stage. When seabed miners wanted to plunder a blue whale habitat, the Luxon-led government built a fast-track consent system for it. When iwi and hap\u016b customary rights got in the way, the government raised the bar so high it\u2019ll be impossible to reach. And when local communities started implementing drastically needed marine protections, the government rewrote the law to strip their ability to do so. <\/p>\n\n

In this government\u2019s view, the rights of iwi and hap\u016b, the beliefs of local communities and environmental protections are inconveniences to the fishing, mining and polluting industries who stand to pocket more profit.<\/p>\n\n

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Members of the Hauraki Gulf Alliance hand in a petition calling for a ban on bottom trawling at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on Thursday, 22 June 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Here\u2019s a run-down of the government’s most egregious assaults on the ocean this term:<\/h3>\n\n

Attempted rollbacks of cameras on boats programme:<\/strong> Shortly after taking the Oceans and Fisheries portfolio, Shane Jones, who sees himself as a champion of the fishing industry,  took aim at the hard-won cameras on boats programme. The initial camera rollouts exposed inconvenient truths, revealing the commercial fishing industry had been underreporting what they catch, including how many endangered dolphins, albatrosses, and penguins were caught in their nets. And while pushback saved the cameras already promised, the government\u2019s legislative assault on the ocean was just getting started.<\/p>\n\n

Gutting customary rights:<\/strong> Amendments to the Marine and Coastal Area (MACA) Act passed in late 2025, deliberately raised the threshold for iwi and hap\u016b to secure Customary Marine Title. The Waitangi Tribunal found this to be a severe breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and it also removed one of the most effective defences against commercial exploitation. Some iwi and hap\u016b who had already achieved CMT, are now being forced to defend them.<\/p>\n\n

Championing destructive fishing:<\/strong> The Fisheries Amendment Bill sought to block onboard camera footage from public view while incentivising destructive bottom trawling, and limiting the ability for organisations and the public to launch legal challenges on bad fisheries decision-making. The Bill was delayed following a nationwide backlash from recreational fishers and environmentalists, but it could still return. <\/p>\n\n

Promoting trawling in vulnerable areas:<\/strong> On the international stage, the New Zealand government proposed that commercial trawlers should be allowed to keep trashing a biodiverse seamount on the Lord Howe Rise –  despite fresh scientific evidence proving the ancient, fragile coral living there. The government was presented with this evidence, but still chose to push for reopening the seamount to the country\u2019s bottom trawlers.  While the proposal did not go through,  it sends a clear signal that even when presented with the  proof of what\u2019s at stake, this government will still choose destruction over ocean protection.<\/p>\n\n

Stripping local powers:<\/strong> In the final dying days of their political term, the Luxon-led  government dismantled the Resource Management Act (RMA), our key environmental law. For years, local communities and regional councils – like those in Northland and the Bay of Plenty – had used the RMA to fill the vacuum left by central government, banning destructive practices locally to enable ocean recovery. The government ripped those local powers to shreds, re-centralizing control back to a Fisheries ministry that has failed to protect the oceans.<\/p>\n\n

The ocean is already under pressure – use your vote<\/h3>\n\n

All of this comes in the context that our marine environment is in trouble. Over 90% of native seabirds and 22% of marine mammal species in Aotearoa are now classified as threatened or at risk of extinction. Hoiho and Maui dolphins are on the brink. Parts of the Hauraki Gulf are strewn with sea urchin barrens, and key fish populations such as tarakihi and orange roughy have collapsed elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n

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